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Li    riAAl 

A  DOoK  of  I  nought, 


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August 
Strlndberg 


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ILiiiii'liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiliiiLi'iLl.L: 


THE  LIBRARY 
OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 
RIVERSIDE 


By  August  Strindberg 


The  Inferno 

Zones  of  the  Spirit 

The  Son  of  a  Servant 


ZONES 
OF  THE  SPIRIT 

A    BOOK    OF    THOUGHTS 


BY 
AUGUST    STRINDBERG 

AUTHOR    OF  "THE    INFERNO,"    "THE    SON    OF    A    SERVANT,"    ETC. 


WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION  BY 

ARTHUR    BABILLOTTE 

TRANSLATED  BY 

CLAUD  FIELD.  M.A, 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

NEW    YORK    AND    LONDON 

Ube  IknicfterbocKer  press 

1913 


9^9 


Copyright,  1913 


BY 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 


Ube  "ftnlcfterbocfeer  press,  •ftew  13orft 


INTRODUCTION 

Seldom  has  a  man  gone  through  such  profound 
reHgious  changes  as  this  Swede,  who  died  last 
May.  The  demonic  element  in  him,  which  spurred 
him  on  restlessly,  made  him  scale  heaven  and 
fathom  hell,  gave  him  glimpses  of  bliss  and  damna- 
:5>^  tion.  He  bore  the  Cain's  mark  on  his  brow:  "A 
fugitive  and  a  wanderer  shalt  thou  be." 

He  was  fundamentally  religious,  for  everyone 

who  searches  after  God  is  so, — a  commonplace 

^     truth  certainly,  but  one  which  needs  to  be  con- 

'      stantly  reiterated.     And  Strindberg's  search  was 

more  painful,  exact,  and  persevering  than  that  of 

Q     most  people.     He  was  never  content  with  super- 

ttr    ficial  formulas,  but  pressed  to  the  heart  of  the 

I     matter,  and  followed  each  winding  of  the  laby- 

V    rinthine  problem  with  endless  patience.     Too  often 

the  Divinity  which  he  thought  he  had  discovered 

O    turned  out  a  delusion,  to  be  scornfully  rejected  the 

Q    moment  afterwards.    Until  he  found  the  God,  whom 

jj    he  worshipped  to  the  end  of  his  days,  and  whose 

^    existence  he  resolutely  maintained  against  deniers. 

in 

V> 


iv  Introd\jction 

As  a  child  he  had  been  brought  up  in  devout 
beHef  in  God,  in  submission  to  the  injustice  of 
Hfe,  and  in  faith  in  a  better  hereafter.  He  re- 
garded God  as  a  Father,  to  Whom  he  made  known 
his  Httle  wants  and  anxieties.  But  a  youth 
with  hard  experiences  followed  his  childhood. 
The  struggle  for  daily  bread  began,  and  his 
heavenly  Father  seemed  to  fail  him.  He  appeared 
to  regard  unmoved,  from  some  Olympian  height, 
the  desperate  struggles  of  humanity  below.  Then 
the  defiant  element  which  slumbered  in  Strind- 
berg  wrathfully  awoke,  and  he  gradually  developed 
into  a  free-thinker.  It  fared  with  him  as  it  often 
does  with  young  and  independent  characters  who 
think.  Beginning  with  dissent  from  this  and  that 
ecclesiastical  dogma,  his  criticism  embraced  an 
ever- widening  range,  and  became  keener  and  more 
unsparing.  At  last  every  barrier  of  respect  and 
reverence  fell,  the  defiant  spirit  of  youth  broke 
like  a  flood  over  all  religious  dogmas,  swept  them 
away,  and  did  not  stop  short  of  criticising  God 
Himself. 

Meanwhile  his  daily  life,  with  its  hard  experi- 
ences, went  on.  Books  written  from  every  con- 
ceivable point  of  view  came  into  his  hands. 
Greedy  for  knowledge  as  he  was,  he  read  them  all. 
Those  of  the  free-thinkers  supported  his  freshly 


I  tit  rod  Vict  ion  v 

aroused  incredulity,  which  as  yet  needed  support. 
His  study  of  philosophical  and  scientific  works 
made  a  clean  sweep  of  what  relics  of  faith  remained. 
Anxiety  about  his  daily  bread,  attacks  from  all 
sides,  the  alienation  of  his  friends,  all  contributed 
towards  making  the  free-thinker  into  an  atheist. 
How  can  there  be  a  God  when  the  world  is 
so  full  of  ugliness,  of  deceit,  of  dishonour,  of 
vulgarity?  This  question  was  bound  to  be 
raised  at  last.  About  this  time  he  wrote  the 
New  Kingdom,  full  of  sharp  criticisms  of  society 
and  Christianity. 

As  an  atheist  Strindberg  made  various  attempts 
to  come  to  terms  with  the  existing  state  of  things. 
But  being  a  genius  out  of  harmony  with  his  con- 
temporaries, and  always  longing  for  some  vaster, 
fairer  future,  this  was  impossible  for  him.  When 
he  found  that  he  came  to  no  goal,  a  perpetual 
unrest  tortured  him.  His  earlier  autobiographic 
writings  appeared,  marked  by  a  strong  misan- 
thropy, and  composed  with  an  obscure  conscious- 
ness of  the  curse:  "A  fugitive  and  a  wanderer 
shalt  thou  be." 

At  last  his  consciousness  becomes  clear  and 
defined.  He  recognises  that  he  is  a  lost  soul  in 
hell  already,  though  outwardly  on  earth.  This 
was  the  most  extraordinary  period  in  Strindberg's 


vi  Introdviction 

life.  He  lived  in  the  Quartier  Latin  in  Paris,  in 
a  barely  furnished  room,  with  retorts  and  chemical 
apparatus,  like  a  second  Faust  at  the  end  of  the 
nineteenth  century.  By  experiments  he  discov- 
ered the  presence  of  carbon  in  sulphur,  and 
considered  that  by  doing  so  he  "had  solved  a 
great  problem,  upset  the  ruling  systems  of  chem- 
istry, and  gained  for  himself  the  only  immortality 
allowed  to  mortals."  He  came  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  reason  why  he  had  gradually  become  an 
atheist  was  that  "the  Unknown  Powers  had  left 
the  world  so  long  without  a  sign  of  themselves." 
The  discovery  made  him  thankful,  and  he  la- 
mented that  he  had  no  one  to  thank.  From  that 
time  the  belief  in  "unknown  powers"  grew 
stronger  and  stronger  in  him.  It  seems  to  have 
been  the  result  of  an  almost  complete,  long,  and 
painful  solitude. 

At  this  time  his  brain  worked  more  feverishly, 
and  his  nerves  were  more  sensitive  than  usual. 
At  last  he  reached  the  (for  an  atheist)  astounding 
conclusion:  "When  I  think  over  my  lot,  I  recog- 
nise that  invisible  Hand  which  disciplines  and 
chastens  me,  without  my  knowing  its  purpose. 
Must  I  be  humbled  in  order  to  be  lifted  up, 
lowered  in  order  to  be  raised?  The  thought 
continually  recurs  to  me, '  Providence  is  planning 


Introdviction  vii 

something  with  thee,  and  this  is  the  beginning 
of  thy  education.'  "' 

Soon  after  this  he  gave  up  his  chemical  experi- 
ments and  took  up  alchemy,  with  a  conviction, 
almost  pathetic  in  its  intensity,  that  he  would 
succeed  in  making  gold.  Although  his  dramas 
had  already  been  performed  in  Paris,  a  success 
which  had  fallen  to  the  lot  of  no  other  Swedish 
dramatist,  he  forgot  all  his  successes  as  an  author, 
and  devoted  himself  solely  to  this  new  pursuit, 
to  meet  again  with  disappointment. 

On  March  29,  1897,  he  began  the  study  of 
Swedenborg,  the  Northern  Seer.  A  feeling  of 
home-sickness  after  heaven  laid  hold  of  him,  and 
he  began  to  believe  that  he  was  being  prepared 
for  a  higher  existence.  "I  despise  the  earth,"  he 
writes,  "this  unclean  world,  these  men  and  their 
works.  I  seem  to  myself  a  righteous  man,  like 
Job,  whom  the  Eternal  is  putting  to  the  test,  and 
whom  the  purgatorial  fires  of  this  world  will  soon 
make  worthy  of  a  speedy  deliverance." 

More  and  more  he  seemed  to  approach  Cathol- 
icism. One  day  he,  the  former  socialist  and 
atheist,  bought  a  rosary.  "It  is  pretty,"  he 
said,  "and  the  evil  spirits  fear  the  cross."  At  the 
same  time,  it  must  be  confessed  that  this  transi- 

'  Strindberg's  Inferno. 


viii  Introdvjction 

tion  to  the  Christian  point  of  view  did  not  subdue 
his  egotism  and  independence  of  character.  "It 
is  my  duty,"  he  said,  "to  fight  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  my  ego  against  all  influences  which  a  sect 
or  party,  from  love  of  proselytising,  might  bring 
to  bear  upon  it.  The  conscience,  which  the 
grace  of  my  Divine  protector  has  given  me,  tells 
me  that."  And  then  comes  a  sentence  full  of 
joy  and  sorrow  alike,  which  seems  to  obliterate 
his  whole  past.  "Bom  with  a  home-sick  longing 
after  heaven,  as  a  child  I  wept  over  the  squalor 
of  existence  and  felt  myself  strange  and  homeless 
among  men.  From  childhood  upwards  I  have 
looked  for  God  and  found  the  Devil."  He  be- 
comes actually  humble,  and  recognises  that  God, 
on  account  of  his  pride,  his  conceit,  his  u^pt<;, 
had  sent  him  for  a  time  to  hell.  "Happy  is  he 
whom  God  punishes." 

The  return  to  Christ  is  complete.  All  his 
faith,  all  his  hope  now  rest  solely  on  the  Crucified, 
whom  he  had  once  demoniacally  hated. 

He  now  devoted  himself  entirely  to  the  study 
of  Swedenborg.  He  felt  that  in  some  way  the 
life  of  this  strange  man  had  foreshadowed  his 
own.  Just  as  Swedenborg  (i 688-1 772)  had  passed 
from  the  profession  of  a  mathematician  to  that 
of  a  theologian,  a  mystic,  and  finally  a  ghost-seer 


Introdviction  ix 

and  theosoph,  so  Strindberg  passed  from  the 
worldly  calling  of  a  romance-writer  to  that  of  a 
preacher  of  Christian  patience  and  reconciliation. 
He  had  occasional  relapses  into  his  old  perverse 
moods,  but  the  attacks  of  the  rebellious  spirit 
were  weaker  and  weaker.  He  told  a  friend  who 
asked  his  opinion  regarding  the  theosophical 
concept  of  Karma,  that  it  was  impossible  for  him 
to  belong  to  a  party  which  denied  a  personal 
God,  "  Who  alone  could  satisfy  his  religious  needs." 
In  a  life  so  full  of  intellectual  activity  as  his 
had  been,  Strindberg  had  amassed  an  enormous 
amount  of  miscellaneous  knowledge.  When  he 
was  nearly  sixty  he  began  to  collect  and  arrange 
all  his  experiences  and  investigations  from  the 
point  of  view  he  had  then  attained.  Thus  was 
composed  his  last  important  work,  Das  Blau  Btich, 
a  book  of  amazing  copiousness  and  originality. 
Regarding  it,  the  Norwegian  author  Nils  Kjaer 
writes  in  the  periodical  Verdens  Gang:  "More 
comprehensive  than  any  modem  collection  of 
aphorisms,  chaotic  as  the  Koran,  wrathful  as 
Isaiah,  as  full  of  occult  things  as  the  Bible,  more 
entertaining  than  any  romance,  keener-edged 
than  most  pamphlets,  mystical  as  the  Cabbala, 
subtle  as  the  scholastic  theology,  sincere  as  Rous- 
seau's confession,   stamped  with   the  impress  of 


X  Introdxiction 

incomparable  originality,  every  sentence  shining 
like  luminous  letters  in  the  darkness — such  is 
this  book  in  which  the  remarkable  writer  makes  a 
final  reckoning  with  his  time  and  proclaims  his 
faith,  as  pugnaciously  as  though  he  were  a  de- 
scendant of  the  hero  of  Lutzen."  The  book,  in 
truth,  forms  a  world  apart,  from  which  all  lying, 
hypocrisy,  and  conventional  contentment  is  ban- 
ished ;  in  it  is  heard  the  stormy  laughter  of  a  genius 
who  has  freed  himself  from  the  fetters  of  earth, 
the  proclamation  of  the  creed  of  a  strange  Christian 
who  interprets  and  reveres  Christ  in  his  own 
fashion,  the  challenge  of  an  original  and  creat- 
ive mind  which  believes  in  its  own  continuance, 
the  expression  of  the  yearning  of  a  lonely  soul 
to  place  itself  in  harmonious  relations  with  the 
universe. 

An  expecially  interesting  feature  of  the  Blau 
Buck  is  the  expression  of  Strindberg's  views 
regarding  the  great  poets,  artists,  and  thinkers 
of  the  past  and  present.  He  speaks  of  Wagner 
and  Nietzsche,  the  two  antipodes ;  of  Horace,  who, 
after  many  wanderings,  recognised  the  hand  of 
God;  of  Shakespeare,  who  had  lived  through  the 
experience  of  every  character  he  created;  of 
Goethe,  regarding  whom  he  remarks,  with  evident 
satisfaction,  "In  old  age,  when  he  grew  wise,  he 


Introdviction  xi 

became  a  mystic,  i.  e.  he  recognised  that  there  are 
things  in  heaven  and  earth  of  which  the  Philistines 
never  dream."  Of  MaeterHnck,  he  says,  "He 
knows  how  to  caricature  his  own  fairest  creations" ; 
and  accuses  Oscar  Wilde  of  want  of  originality. 
Regarding  Hegel,  he  notes  with  pleasure  that  at 
the  end  of  his  life  he  returned  to  Christianity. 
With  deep  satisfaction  he  writes,  "Hegel,  after 
having  gone  very  roundabout  ways,  died  in  1831, 
of  cholera,  as  a  simple,  believing  Christian,  put- 
ting aside  all  philosophy  and  praying  penitential 
psalms."  In  Rousseau  he  recognises  a  kindred 
spirit,  in  so  far  as  the  Frenchman,  like  himself, 
hated  all  that  was  unnatural.  "One  can  agree 
with  Rousseau  when  he  says,  'All  that  comes  from 
the  Creator's  hand  is  perfect,  but  when  it  falls 
into  the  hands  of  man  it  is  spoilt. '  " 

The  Blau  Buck  marks  the  summit  of  Strind- 
berg's  chequered  sixty  years'  pilgrimage.  Beneath 
him  lies  the  varicoloured  landscape  of  his  past 
life,  now  lit  up  with  gleams  of  sunshine,  now 
draped  in  dark  mists,  now  drowned  in  storms  of 
rain.  But  Strindberg,  the  poet  and  thinker,  has 
escaped  from  both  dark  and  bright  days  alike; 
he  stands  peacefully  on  the  summit,  above  the 
trivialities,  the  cares,  and  bitternesses  of  life,  a 
free  man.     He  is  like  Prometheus,  fettered  to  the 


xii  Introduction 

rock  for  having  bestowed  on  men  the  gift  of  fire, 
but  Hberated  after  he  has  learnt  his  lesson.  In 
his  calm  is  something  resembling  the  dignity  of 
Goethe's  old  age.  As  the  latter  sat  on  the  Kickel- 
hahn,  looking  down  on  Thuringia,  and  saw  the 
panorama  of  his  life  pass  before  him,  so  Strindberg 
takes  a  retrospect  in  his  Blau  Buck.  It  is  the 
canticle  of  his  life,  a  hymn  of  thankfulness  for 
the  recovered  faith  in  which  he  has  found  peace. 
At  its  conclusion  he  thus  sums  up: 

"Rousseau's  early  doctrine  regarding  the  curse 
of  mere  learning  should  be  repondered." 

"A  new  Descartes  should  arise  and  teach  the 
men  to  doubt  the  untruths  of  the  sciences." 

"Another  Kant  should  write  a  new  Critique 
of  Pure  Reason  and  re-establish  the  doctrine  of 
the  Categorical  Imperative,  which,  however,  is 
already  to  be  found  in  the  Ten  Commandments 
and  the  Gospels." 

"A  prophet  should  be  bom  to  teach  men  the 
simple  meaning  of  life  in  a  few  words.  It  has 
already  been  so  well  summed  up:  'Fear  God,  and 
keep  His  commandments,'  or  'Pray  and  work.'  " 

"All  the  errors  and  mistakes  which  we  have 
made  should  serve  to  instil  into  us  a  lively  hatred 
of  evil,  and  to  impart  a  fresh  impulse  to  good; 
these  we  can  take  with  us  to  the  other  side,  where 


Introdxiction  xiii 

they  will  bloom  and  bear  fruit.  That  is  the  true 
meaning  of  life,  at  which  the  obstinate  and  impen- 
itent cavil,  in  order  to  save  themselves  trouble." 
"Pray,  but  work;  suffer,  but  hope;  keeping 
both  the  earth  and  the  stars  in  view.  Do  not 
try  and  settle  permanently,  for  it  is  a  place  of 
pilgrimage;  not  a  home,  but  a  halting-place. 
Seek  the  truth,  for  it  is  to  be  found,  but  only  in 
one  place,  with  the  One  who  Himself  is  the  Way, 
the  Truth,  and  the  Life." 

Arthur  Babillotte. 


CONTENTS 


THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BLUE  BOOK 
A  BLUE  BOOK— 

The  Thirteenth  Axiom     . 

The  Rustic  IntelHgence  of  the  "Beans" 

The  Hoopoo,  or  An  Unusual  Occurrence 

Bad  Digestion 

The  Song  of  the  Sawyers 

Al  Mansur  in  the  Gymnasium 

The  Nightingale  in  the  Vineyard 

The  Miracle  of  the  Corn-crakes 

Corollaries      .... 

Phantasms  which  are  Real 

Crex,  Crex!    .... 

The  Electric  Battery  and  the  Earth  Circuit 

Improper  and  Unanswerable  Questions 

Superstition  and  Non-Superstition 

Through  Faith  to  Knowledge  . 

The  Enchanted  Room      . 

Concerning  Correspondences    . 

The  Green  Island    . 

Swedenborg's  Hell  . 

Preliminary  Knowledge  Necessary 

Perverse  Science 

Truth  in  Error 


PAGE 
I 

12 
13 
14 
15 
16 
18 

19 
20 
22 

23 
24 

25 
26 
27 
28 
30 
31 
32 

33 
35 
36 

37 


XV 


XVI 


Contents 


Accumulators  ..... 

Eternal  Punishment         .... 

"Desolation"  ..... 

A  World  of  Delusion        .... 

The  Conversion  of  the  Cheerful  Pagan,  Horace 

Cheerful  Paganism  and  its  Doctrine  of  Hell 

Faith  the  Chief  Thing      . 

Penitents        .... 

Paying  for  Others  . 

The  Lice-King 

The  Art  of  Life 

The  Mitigation  of  Destiny 

The  Good  and  the  Evil    . 

Modesty  and  the  Sense  of  Justice 

Derelicts         .... 

Human  Fate 

Dark  Rays     .... 

Blind  and  Deaf 

The  Disrobing  Chamber 

The  Character  Mask 

Youth  and  Folly     . 

When  I  was  Young  and  Stupid 

Constant  Illusions  . 

The  Merits  of  the  Multiplication-Table 

Under  the  Prince  of  this  World 

The  Idea  of  Hell     . 

Self-Knowledge 

Somnambulism  and  Clairvoyance  in  Everyday 

Practical  Measures  against  Enemies 

The  Goddess  of  Reason  . 

Stars  Seen  by  Daylight    . 

The  Right  to  Remorse 

A  Religious  Theatre 


Life 


Contents 


xvii 


Through  Constraint  to  Freedom 

The  Praise  of  Folly 

The  Inevitable 

The  Poet's  Sacrifice 

The  Function  of  the  Philistines 

World-Religion 

The  Return  of  Christ 

Correspondences     . 

Good  Words  . 

Severe  and  not  Severe 

Yeast  and  Bread     . 

The  Man  of  Development 

Sins  of  Thought 

Sins  of  Will    . 

The  Study  of  Mankind    . 

Friend  Zero    . 

Affable  Men  . 

Cringing  before  the  Beast 

Ecclesia  Triumphans 

Logic  in  Neurasthenia 

My  Caricature 

The  Inexplicable     . 

Old-time  Religion   . 

The  Seduced  become  Seducers 

Large-hearted  Christianity 

Reconnection  with  the  Aerial  Wire 

The  Art  of  Conversion     . 

The  Superman 

To  be  a  Christian  is  not  to  be  a  Pietist 

Strength  and  Value  of  Words 

The  Black  Illuminati 

Anthropomorphism 

Fury-worship  as  a  Penal  Hallucination 


PAGE 

79 
80 

82 

83 
84 
86 
88 
89 
90 
92 

94 
95 
96 
98 

99 
100 

lOI 

103 
104 
106 
107 
109 
no 
III 

113 
114 

115 
116 

117 

119 

120 

121 
122 


XVlll 


Contents 


Amerigo  or  Columbus 

A  Circumnavigator  of  the  Globe 

The  Poet's  Children 

Faithful  in  Little  Things. 

The  Unpracticalness  of  Husk-eating 

A  Youthful  Dream  for  Seven  Shillings 

Envy  Nobody! 

The  Galley-slaves  of  Ambition 

Hard  to  Disentangle 

The  Art  of  Settling  Accounts 

Growing  Old  Gracefully  . 

The  Eight  Wild  Beasts    . 

Deaf  and  Blind 

Recollections 

Children  are  Wonder-Children, 

Men-resembling  Men 

Christ  is  Risen 

Revolution-Sheep    . 

"Life  Woven  of  the  Same  Stuff  as  our 

The  Gospel  of  the  Pagans 

Punished  by  the  Imagination 

Bankruptcy  of  Philosophy 

A  Whole  Life  in  an  Hour 

The  After-Odour     . 

Peaches  and  Turnips 

The  Web  of  Lies     . 

Lethe    . 

A  Suffering  God 

The  Antonement     . 

When  Nations  Go  Mad 

The  Poison  of  Lies 

Murderous  Lies 

Innocent  Guilt 


Dreams ' 


Contents 


XIX 


PAGE 


The  Charm  of  Old  Age 

167 

The  Ring-System 

169 

Lust,  Hate,  and  Fear,  or  the  Rehgion  of  the  Heathen 

169 

"Whom  the  Gods  Wish  to  Destroy" 

171 

The  Slavery  of  the  Prophet 

172 

Absurd  Problems 

173 

The  Crooked  Rib 

174 

White  Slavery          ....... 

175 

Noodles  ......... 

176 

Inextricable  Confusion     ...... 

177 

Phantoms       ....... 

178 

Mirage  Pictures      ...... 

179 

Trifle  not  with  Love        ..... 

180 

A  "Taking"  Religion 

181 

The  Sixth  Sense 

182 

Exteriorisation  of  Sensibility    .... 

183 

Telepathic  Perception      ..... 

185 

Morse  Telepathy    ...... 

186 

Nisus  Formativus,  or  Unconscious  Sculpture 

187 

Projections     ....... 

.      188 

Apparitions    ....... 

.      189 

The  Reactionary  Type     ..... 

•      191 

The  Hate  of  Parasites      ..... 

.      192 

A  Letter  from  the  Dead  ..... 

•      193 

A  Letter  from  Hell  ...... 

•      195 

An  Unconscious  Medium          .... 

196 

The  Revenant         ...... 

.      197 

The  Meeting  in  the  Convent    .... 

.      198 

Correspondences     ...... 

.      199 

Portents         ...,.•- 

.      201 

The  Difficult  Art  of  Lying        .... 

.     202 

Religion  and  Scientific  Intuition 

.     204 

The  Freed  Thinker 

.     205 

XX 


Contents 


Primus  inter  pares  ..... 

Heathen  Imaginations     .... 

Thought  Bound  by  Law  .... 

Credo  quia  (et-si)  absurdum 

The  Fear  of  Heaven         .... 

The  Goat-god  Pan  and  the  Fear  of  the  Pan-pipe 

Their  Gospel  ..... 

The  Deposition  of  the  Apes 

The  Secret  of  the  Cross   .... 

Examination  and  Summer  Holidays 

Veering  and  Tacking        .... 

Attraction  and  Repulsion  .         .         . 

The  Double 

Paw  or  Hand  ..... 

The  Thousand- Years'  Night  of  the  Apes  . 
The  Favourite  ..... 
Scientific  Villainies  .... 

Necrobiosis,  i.e.  Death  and  Resurrection  . 
Secret  Judgment  ..... 
Hammurabi's  Inspired  Laws  Received  from  the  Sun 

God 

Strauss's  Life  of  Christ    .... 
Christianity  and  Radicalism     . 
Where  are  We  ?..... 
Hegel's  Christianity         .... 
"Men  of  God's  Hand"    .... 

Night-Owls 

Apotheosis     ...... 

Painting  Things  Black     .         .         .         . 

The  Thorn  in  the  Flesh   .... 

Despair  and  Grace  .... 

The  Last  Act 

Consequences  of  Learning 


Contents 


XXI 


PAGE 


Rousseau        . 

.     252 

Rousseau  Again       ...... 

•     253 

Materialised  Apparitions           .... 

•     255 

The  Art  of  Dying 

•     257 

Can  Philosophy  Bring  any  Blessing  to  Mankind  ? 

.     258 

Goethe  on  the  Bible         ..... 

.     263 

"  Now  we  Can  Fly  Too  !     Hurrah". 

.     264 

The  FaU  and  Original  Sin         ...          . 

.     265 

The  Gospel 

.     266 

Religious  Heathen  ...... 

.     268 

The  Pleasure-Garden       ..... 

.     269 

The  Happiness  of  Love    ..... 

.     272 

Our  Best  Feelings  ...... 

.     273 

Blood -Fraternity     ...... 

.     274 

The  Power  of  Love       ...              .         . 

.     276 

The  Box  on  the  Ear         ..... 

.     277 

Saul,  afterwards  Called  Paul    .... 

.     279 

A  Scene  from  Hell  ...... 

.     280 

The  Jewel-Casket  or  his  Better  Half 

.     282 

The  Mummy-CofEn         ..... 

284 

In  the  Attic   ....... 

.     285 

The  Sculptor 

.     287 

On  the  Threshold  at  Five  Years  of  Age 

.     288 

Goethe  on  Christianity  and  Science  . 

291 

Summa  Summarum          .          .          .          ... 

.     292 

Zones  of  the  Spirit 


THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  BLUE  BOOK 

{Prefixed  to  the  Third  Swedish  Edition) 

I  HAD  read  how  Goethe  had  once  intended  to  write 
a  Breviarium  Universale,  a  book  of  edification  for 
the  adherents  of  all  religions.  In  my  Historical 
Miniatures  I  have  attempted  to  trace  God's  ways 
in  the  history  of  the  world;  I  included  Chris- 
tianity in  my  survey  by  commencing  with  Israel, 
but  perhaps  I  made  the  mistake  of  ranging  other 
religions  by  the  side  of  Christianity,  while  they 
ought  to  have  stood  below  it. 

A  year  passed.  I  felt  myself  constrained  by 
inward  impulses  to  write  a  fairly  unsectarian 
breviary;  a  word  of  wisdom  for  each  day  in  the 
year.  For  that  purpose  I  collected  the  sacred 
books  of  all  religions,  in  order  to  extract  from  them 
"sayings"  on  which  to  write.  But  the  books 
did  not  open  themselves  to  me!     The  Vedas  and 


2  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

Zend-Avesta  were  sealed,  and  did  not  yield  a 
single  saying;  only  the  Koran  gave  one,  but  that 
was  a  lion!  (page  45).  Then  I  determined  to 
alter  my  design.  I  formed  the  plan  of  writing 
apothegms  of  simply  worldly  wisdom  regarding 
men,  and  of  calling  the  book  Herbarium  Humane. 
But  I  postponed  the  work  since  I  trembled  at 
the  greatness  of  the  task  and  the  crudity  of  my 
plan.  Then  came  June  15,  1906.  As  I  took  my 
morning  walk,  the  first  thing  I  saw  was  a  tramcar 
with  the  number  365.  I  was  struck  by  this 
number,  and  thought  of  the  365  pages  which  I 
intended  to  write. 

As  I  went  on,  I  entered  a  narrow  street.  A 
cart  went  along  by  my  side  carrying  a  red  flag; 
it  was  a  powder-flag.  The  cart  kept  parallel 
with  me  and  began  to  disturb  me.  In  order  to 
escape  the  sight  of  the  powder-flag,  I  looked  up 
in  the  air,  and  there  an  enormous  red  flag  (the 
English  one)  flaunted  conspicuously  before  my 
eyes.  I  looked  down  again,  and  a  lady  dressed 
in  black,  with  a  fiery-red  hat,  was  crossing  the 
street  in  a  slanting  direction. 

I  hastened  my  steps.  Immediately  my  eyes 
fell  on  the  window  of  a  stationer's  shop;  in  it  a 
piece  of  cardboard  was  displayed,  bearing  the 
word  "Herbarium." 


History  of  tKe  Blvie  BooK  3 

It  was  natural  that  all  this  should  make  an 
impression  on  me.  My  resolution  was  now  taken ; 
I  laid  down  the  plan  of  my  powder-chamber, 
which  was  to  become  the  Blue  Book.  A  year 
passed,  slowly,  painfully.  The  most  remarkable 
thing  that  happened  was  this.  They  began  to 
rehearse  my  drama,  the  Dream  Play,  in  the  theatre; 
simultaneously,  a  change  took  place  in  my  daily 
life.  My  servant  left  me;  my  domestic  arrange- 
ments were  upset;  within  forty  days  I  had  six 
changes  of  servants — one  worse  than  the  other. 
At  last  I  had  to  serve  myself,  lay  the  table  and 
light  the  stove.  I  ate  black  broken  victuals  out 
of  a  basket.  In  short,  I  had  to  taste  the  whole 
bitterness  of  life  without  knowing  why. 

One  morning  during  this  fasting  period  I 
passed  by  a  shop  window  in  which  I  saw  a  piece 
of  tapestry  which  attracted  and  delighted  me. 
I  thought  I  saw  my  dream-play  in  the  design 
woven  on  the  tapestry.  Above  was  the  "growing 
castle,"  and  underneath  the  green  island  over- 
arched by  a  rainbow,  and  with  Alpine  summits 
illumined  by  the  sun.  Round  it  was  the  sea 
reflecting  the  stars  and  a  great  green  sea-snake 
partly  visible;  low  down  in  the  border  was  a  row 
of  fylfots — the  symbol  Swastika,  signifying  good- 
luck.     That  was,  at  any  rate,  my  meaning;  the 


4  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

artist  had  intended  something  else  which  does  not 
belong  here. 

Then  came  the  dress-rehearsal  of  the  Dream 
Play.  This  drama  I  wrote  seven  years  ago,  after 
a  period  of  forty  days'  suffering  which  were  among 
the  worst  which  I  had  ever  undergone.  And 
now  again  exactly  forty  days  of  fasting  and  pain 
had  passed.  There  seems,  therefore,  to  be  a 
secret  legislature  which  promulgates  clearly  de- 
fined sentences.  I  thought  of  the  forty  days  of  the 
flood,  the  forty  years  of  wandering  in  the  desert,  the 
forty  days'  fast  kept  by  Moses,  Elijah,  and  Christ. 
My  journal  thus  records  my  impressions : 
"The  sun  shines.  A  certain  quiet  resigned 
uncertainty  reigns  within  me.  I  ask  myself 
whether  a  catastrophe  will  not  prevent  the  per- 
formance of  the  piece,  which  perhaps  ought  not 
to  be  played.  In  it  I  have,  at  any  rate,  spoken 
men  fair,  but  to  advise  the  Ruler  of  the  Universe 
is  presumption,  perhaps  blasphemy.  The  fact 
that  I  have  laid  bare  the  comparative  nothingness 
of  life  (with  Buddhism),  its  irrational  contradic- 
tions, its  wickedness  and  lawlessness,  may  be 
praiseworthy  if  it  teaches  men  resignation.  That 
I  have  shown  the  comparative  innocence  of  men 
in  this  life,  which  of  itself  involves  guilt,  is  not 
indeed  wrong,  but  ..." 


History  of  tKe  Bl\ie  BooK  5 

Just  now  comes  a  telephone  message  from  the 
theatre:  "The  result  of  this  is  in  God's  hand." 
"Exactly  what  I  think,"  I  answer,  and  ask  myself 
again  whether  the  piece  ought  to  be  played.  (I 
believe  it  is  already  determined  by  the  higher 
powers  what  the  issue  of  the  first  performance  will 
prove.) 

I  feel  as  though  it  were  Sunday.  The  "White 
Shape"  appears  outside  on  the  balcony  of  the 
"growing  castle." 

My  thoughts  have  lately  been  occupied  with 
death  and  with  the  life  after  this.  Yesterday  I 
read  Plato's  Timceus  and  Phcedo.  At  present  I 
write  a  work  called  The  Island  of  the  Dead.  In 
it  I  describe  the  awakening  after  death,  and  what 
follows.  But  I  hesitate,  for  I  am  frightened  at 
the  boundless  misery  of  mere  life.  Lately  I 
burned  a  drama;  it  was  so  sincere,  that  I  shud- 
dered at  it.  "V\Tiat  I  do  not  understand  is  this: 
ought  one  to  hide  the  misery,  and  flatter  men? 
I  wish  to  write  cheerfully  and  beautifully,  but 
ought  not,  and  cannot.  I  conceive  it  as  a  terrible 
duty  to  be  truthful,  and  life  is  indescribably 
hideous. 

Now  the  clock  strikes  eleven,  and  at  twelve 
o'clock  is  the  rehearsal. 

The  same  day  at  8  p.m.      I  have  seen  the  re- 


6  Zones  of  the  Spirit 

hearsal  of  the  Dream  Play,  and  suffered  greatly. 
I  received  the  impression  that  this  piece  ought 
not  to  be  played.  It  is  presumptuous,  and  cer- 
tainly blasphemous  (?).  I  am  disturbed  and 
alarmed. 

I  have  had  no  midday  meal;  at  seven  o'clock 
I  ate  some  cold  food  out  of  the  basket  in  the 
kitchen. 

During  the  religious  broodings  of  my  last  forty 
days  I  read  the  Book  of  Job,  saying  to  myself 
certainly  at  the  same  time  that  I  was  no  righteous 
man  Hke  him.  Then  I  came  to  the  22nd  chapter, 
in  which  Eliphaz  the  Temanite  unmasks  Job: 
"Thou  hast  taken  pledges  of  thy  brother  for 
nought,  and  stripped  the  naked  of  their  clothing; 
thou  hast  not  given  water  to  the  weary  to  drink, 
and  thou  hast  withholden  bread  from  the  hungry. 
...  Is  not  thy  wickedness  great  and  thine  iniquities 
infinite?" 

Then  the  whole  comfort  of  the  Book  of  Job 
vanished,  and  I  stood  again  forlorn  and  irreso- 
lute. What  shall  a  poor  man  hold  on  to?  What 
shall  I  believe?  How  can  he  help  thinking  per- 
versely? 

Yesterday  I  read  Plato's  TimcBUs  and  PhcEdo. 
There  I  found  so  much  self -contradictory  wisdom, 
that  in  the  evening  I  threw  my  devotional  books 


History  of  tHe  Dlue  DooK  7 

away  and  prayed  to  God  out  of  a  full  heart. 
"  What  .will  happen  now?     God  help  me !     Amen." 

The  stage-manager  visited  me  yesterday  even- 
ing. We  both  felt  in  despair.  .  .  .  The  night 
was  quiet. 

April  i6,  1907. — Read  the  proof  of  the  Black 
Flags,  ^  which  I  wrote  in  1904.  I  asked  myself 
whether  the  book  was  a  crime,  and  whether  it 
ought  to  be  published.  I  opened  the  Bible,  and 
came  on  the  prophet  Jonah,  who  was  compelled 
to  prophesy  although  he  hid  himself.  That 
quieted  me.     But  it  is  a  terrible  book! 

April  ly. — To-day  the  Dream  Play  will  be 
performed  for  the  first  time.  A  gentle  fall  of 
snow  in  the  morning.  Read  the  last  chapter  of 
Job:  God  punishes  Job  because  he  presumed  to 
wish  to  understand  His  work.  Job  prays  for 
pardon,  and  is  forgiven. 

Quiet  grey  weather  till  3  p.m.  Then  G.  came 
with  a  piece  of  good  news. 

Spent  the  evening  alone  at  home.  At  eight 
o'clock  there  was  a  ring  at  the  door.  A  messenger 
brought  a  laurel-wreath  with  the  inscription: 
"Truth,  Light,  Liberation."  I  took  the  wreath 
at  once  to  the  bust  of  Beethoven  on  the  tiled  stove 

'  A  roman  d.  clef  in  which  Strindberg  fiercely  attacks  the 
Bohemians  and  emancipated  women  of  Stockholm. 


8  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

and  placed  it  on  his  head,  since  I  had  so  much 
to  thank  him  for,  especially  just  now  for  the 
music  accompanying  my  drama. 

At  eleven  o'clock  a  telephone  from  the  theatre 
announces  that  everything  has  gone  well. 

May  2g. — The  Black  Flags  come  out  to-day. 
I  make  very  satisfactory  terms  with  the  publisher 
regarding  the  Blue  Book  (and  I  had  thought  it 
would  not  be  printed  at  all).  So  I  determined 
to  remain  in  my  house,  which  I  had  determined 
to  leave  on  account  of  poverty. 

August  20. — I  read  this  evening  the  proofs  of 
the  Blue  Book.  Then  the  sky  grew  coal-black 
with  towering  dark  clouds.  A  storm  of  rain  fell; 
then  it  cleared  up,  and  a  great  rainbow  stood 
round  the  church,  which  was  lit  up  by  the  sun. 

August  22. — I  am  reading  now  the  proofs  of 
the  Blue  Book,  and  I  feel  now  as  though  my  mis- 
sion in  life  were  ended.  I  have  been  able  to  say 
all  I  had  to  say. 

I  dreamt  that  I  was  in  the  home  of  my  child- 
hood at  Sabbatsberg,  and  saw  that  the  great 
pond  was  dried  up.  This  pond  had  always  been 
dangerous  to  children  because  it  was  surrounded 
by  a  swamp;  it  had  an  evil  smell,  and  was  full  of 
frogs,  hedgehogs,  and  lizards.  Now  in  my  dream 
I  walked  about  on  the  dry  ground,  and  was  aston- 


History  of  tKe  Blxie  BooK  9 

ished  to  find  it  so  clean.  I  thought  now  that 
I  have  broken  with  the  Black  Flags  the  frog-swamp 
is  done  with. 

September  i. — Read  the  last  proofs  of  the  Blue 
Book. 

September  2. — Came  across  tramcar  365,  which 
I  had  not  seen  since  I  began  to  write  the  Blue 
Book  on  June  15,  1906. 

September  12. — The  Blue  Book  appears  to-day. 
It  is  the  first  clear  day  in  summer.  I  dreamt  I 
found  myself  in  a  stone-quarry,  and  could  neither 
go  up  nor  down.  I  thought  quite  quietly,  "Well, 
I  must  cry  for  help!" 

The  German  motto  to-day  on  the  tear-off 
calendar  is:  "What  is  to  be  clarified  must  first 
ferment." 

To-day  I  got  new  clothes  which  fitted.  My 
old  ones  had  been  too  tight  to  the  point  of  torture. 

My  little  daughter  visited  me.  I  took  her 
home  again  in  a  chaise. 

September  14. — The  whole  day  clear.  Towards 
evening,  however,  about  a  quarter  to  six,  the  sky 
became  covered  with  most  portentous-looking 
clouds,  with  black  outlines  like  obliquely  hanging 
theatre-flies.  Afterwards  these  were  driven  out 
by  a  storm  over  the  sea. 

This  evening  my  Crown  Bride  was  performed. 


lo  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

Thus,  then,  the  Blue  Book  had  appeared.  It 
looked  well  with  its  blue  and  red  binding,  which 
resembled  that  of  my  first  book,  the  Red  Room, 
but  in  its  contents  differed  as  much  from  it  as 
red  from  blue.  In  the  first  I  had,  like  Jeremiah, 
to  pluck  up,  break  down,  and  destroy ;  but  in  this 
book  I  was  able  to  build  and  to  plant.  And  I 
will  conclude  with  Hezekiah's  song  of  praise : 

"I  said,  in  the  noontide  of  my  days,  I  shall  go 
to  the  gates  of  the  grave: 

"My  age  is  departed,  and  is  removed  from  me 
as  a  shepherd's  tent: 

"I  have  rolled  up  like  a  weaver  my  life;  he  will 
cut  me  off  from  the  loom. 

"From  day  even  to  night  wilt  thou  make  an 
end  of  me. 

"Like  a  swallow  or  a  crane,  so  did  I  chatter; 
I  did  mourn  as  a  dove :  mine  eyes  fail  with  looking 
upward. 

"Lord,  I  am  oppressed;  undertake  for  me. 

"What  shall   I  say?     He  hath  both  spoken 
unto  me,  and  himself  hath  done  it. 

"Behold,  it  was  for  my  peace  that  I  had  great 
bitterness ; 

"Thou  hast  in  love  to  my  soul  delivered  it 
from  the  pit  of  corruption. 


History  of  tKe  Blue  BooK  ii 

"The  living,  the  Hving,  he  shall  praise  thee,  as 
I  do  this  day. 

"The  father  to  the  children  shall  make  known 
thy  truth." 

I  saw  beforehand  what  awaited  me  if  I  broke 
with  the  Black  Flags.  But  I  placed  my  soul  in 
God's  hands,  and  went  forwards.  I  affix  as  a 
motto  to  the  following  book,  "He  who  departeth 
from  evil,  maketh  himself  a  prey." 

The  strangest  thing,  however,  is  that  from  this 
moment  my  own  Karma  began  to  complete  itself. 
I  was  protected,  things  went  well  with  me,  I 
found  better  friends  than  those  I  had  lost.  Now 
I  am  inclined  to  ascribe  all  my  former  mischances 
to  the  fact  that  I  served  the  Black  Flags.  There 
was  no  blessing  with  them! 


A  BLUE  BOOK 

The  Thirteenth  Axiom.^ — Euclid's  twelfth  axiom, 
as  is  well  known,  runs  thus:  When  one  straight 
line  cuts  two  other  straight  lines  so  that  the 
interior  angles  on  the  same  side  are  together  less 
than  two  right  angles,  these  two  lines,  being  pro- 
duced, will  at  length  meet  on  that  side  on  which 
are  the  two  angles,  which  are  together  less  than 
two  right  angles. 

If  that  is  a  self-evident  proposition,  which  can 
neither  be  proved,  nor  needs  to  be  proved,  how 
much  clearer  is  the  axiom  of  the  existence  of  God ! 

Anyone  who  tries  to  prove  an  axiom,  loses 
himself  in  absurdity;  therefore,  we  should  not 
attempt  to  prove  the  existence  of  God.  He  who 
cannot  understand  what  is  self-evident  in  an 
axiom  belongs  to  the  class  of  people  of  a  lower 
degree  of  intelligence.  One  should  be  sorry  for 
such  dullards,  but  not  blame  them. 

The  first  point  in  the  definition  of  God,  is  that 
He  is  Almighty.  Thence  it  follows  that  He  can 
abrogate  His  own  laws.       But  since  we  do  not 

12 


Rustic  Intelligence  of  tKe  "Beans'*   13 

know  all  His  laws,  we  do  not  know  when  He 
employs  a  law  which  is  unknown  to  us,  or  suspends 
a  law  which  is  known  to  us. 

What  we  call  miracles,  may  happen  according 
to  strict  laws  which  we  do  not  know.  We  must 
therefore  take  care,  when  confronted  by  unusual 
or  inexplicable  occurrences,  to  see  that  we  make 
no  mistakes.  These  draw  down  upon  us  the 
contempt  of  our  fellow-mortals  who  are  gifted 
with  keener  intelligence. 

The  Rustic  Intelligence  of  the  "  Beans."— The 

miller  turns  his  mill  and  the  seaman  trims  his 
sails  according  to  the  force  and  direction  of  the 
wind.  They  do  not  see  the  wind,  but  they  believe 
in  its  existence,  since  they  observe  the  results 
produced  by  it.  They  are  wise  people  who  use 
their  intelligence. 

Intelligence  ("ratio"),  or  rustic  intelHgence, 
is  an  excellent  faculty  whereby  to  grasp  what  is 
perceptible  by  the  senses,  even  when  it  is  invisible. 
Reason  is  a  higher  faculty  wherewith  one  may 
grasp  what  is  not  perceptible  by  sense.  But 
when  the  rationalists  try  to  comprehend  the 
highest  things  with  their  rustic  intelligence,  then 
they  see  light  as  darkness,  good  as  evil,  the  eternal 
as  temporal.     In  a  word,   they  see  distortedly, 


14  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

for  they  see  by  the  Hght  of  nature.  Just  as  the 
rustic  intelHgence  is  indispensable  when  one  goes 
to  market,  deals  with  coffee  and  sugar,  or  draws 
up  promissory-notes,  even  so  is  the  use  of  reason 
necessary  when  one  wishes  to  approach  what  is 
above  nature. 

Voltaire  and  Heine  are  counted  among  the  great- 
est rationalists  because  they  judged  of  spiritual 
things  by  rustic  intelligence.  Their  arguments 
are  therefore  interesting,  but  worthless. 

And  the  most  interesting  fact  about  both  these 
men  is,  that  they  discovered  their  errors,  declared 
themselves  bankrupt,  and  finally  used  their  reason. 
But  there  the  "Beans"  can  no  longer  follow  them. 

"Beans"  is  a  classical  name  for  the  Philistines 
who  worshipped  Dagon,  the  fish-god,  and  Beelze- 
bub, the  god  of  dung. 

The   Hoopoo,   or   An   Unusual   Occurrence.^ — 

Johann  was  one  day  on  his  travels,  and  came  to 
a  wood.  In  an  old  tree  he  found  a  bird's  nest 
with  seven  eggs,  which  resembled  the  eggs  of  the 
common  swift.  But  the  latter  bird  only  lays 
three  eggs,  so  the  nest  could  not  belong  to  it. 
Since  Johann  was  a  great  connoisseur  in  eggs, 
he  soon  perceived  that  they  were  the  eggs  of  the 
hoopoo.     Accordingly,  he  said  to  himself,  "There 


TKe  Hoopoo  15 

must  be  a  hoopoo  somewhere  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, although  the  natural  history  books  assert 
that  it  does  not  appear  here." 

After  a  time  he  heard  quite  distinctly  the  well- 
known  cry  of  the  hoopoo.  Then  he  knew  that 
the  bird  was  there.  He  hid  himself  behind  a  rock, 
and  he  soon  saw  the  speckled  bird  with  its  yellow 
comb.  When  Johann  returned  home  after  three 
days,  he  told  his  teacher  that  he  had  seen  the 
hoopoo  on  the  island.  His  teacher  did  not  believe 
it,  but  demanded  proof. 

"Proof!"  said  Johann.  "Do  you  mean  two 
witnesses?" 

"Yes!" 

"Good!  I  have  twice  two  witnesses,  and  they 
all  agree:  my  two  ears  heard  it,  and  my  two  eyes 
saw  it." 

"Maybe.  But  I  have  not  seen  it,"  answered 
the  teacher. 

Johann  was  called  a  liar  because  he  could  not 
prove  that  he  had  seen  the  hoopoo  in  such  and 
such  a  spot.  However,  it  was  a  fact  that  the 
hoopoo  appeared  there,  although  it  was  an  im- 
usual  occurrence  in  this  neighbourhood. 

Bad  Digestion. — When  one  adds  up  several 
large  numbers,  one  owes  it  to  oneself  to  doubt  the 


i6  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

correctness  of  the  calculation.  In  order  to  test 
it,  one  generally  adds  the  figures  up  again,  but 
from  the  bottom  to  the  top.  That  is  wholesome 
doubt. 

But  there  is  an  unwholesome  kind  of  doubt, 
which  consists  in  denying  everything  which  one 
has  not  seen  and  heard  oneself.  To  treat  one's 
fellow-men  as  liars  is  not  humane,  and  diminishes 
our  knowledge  to  a  considerable  degree. 

There  is  a  morbid  kind  of  doubt,  which  resem- 
bles a  weak  stomach.  Everything  is  swallowed, 
but  nothing  retained ;  everything  is  received,  but 
nothing  digested.  The  consequence  is  emaciation, 
exhaustion,  consumption,  and  premature  death. 

Johann  Damascenus '  had  passed  through  several 
years  of  wholesome  doubt,  proving  the  truths  of 
faith  by  systematic  denial.  But  when,  after 
minutely  checking  his  calculation,  he  had  become 
sure  of  their  asserted  values,  he  believed.  Since 
then,  neither  fear  of  men,  love  of  gain,  contempt, 
or  threats  could  cause  him  to  abandon  his  dearly 
purchased  faith.     And  in  that  he  was  right. 

The  Song  of  the  Sawyers. — As  Damascenus 
wandered  in  Qualheim,  he  came  to  a   saw-mill. 

'  Strindberg  gives  himself  this  name,  probably  in  allusion  to 
his  mystery-play,    To  Damascus    (1900). 


THe  Son^  of  tKe  Sa-wyers  17 

Outside  it,  on  the  edge  of  a  stream,  sat  two  men, 
and  sawed  a  steel  rail  with  a  double  saw.  They 
accompanied  their  sawing  with  a  rhythmic  chant 
in  two  voices,  and  somewhat  resembled  two 
drinkers  quarrelling. 

"What  are  you  singing  about?"  asked  Dama- 
scenus. 

"About  faith  and  knowledge,"  answered  one. 
And  then  they  recommenced.  "What  I  know, 
that  I  believe;  therefore  knowledge  is  under  faith, 
and  faith  stands  above  it." 

"What  do  you  know  then?  What  you  have 
seen  with  your  eye?" 

"My  eye  sees  nothing  of  itself.  If  you  were 
to  take  it  out,  and  lay  it  down  here,  it  would  see 
nothing.     Therefore,   it  is  my  inner  eye  which 


sees." 


"Can  I  then  see  your  inner  eye?" 

"It  is  not  to  be  seen.  But  you  see  with  that 
which  is  itself  invisible.  Therefore,  you  must 
believe  on  the  invisible!     Now  you  know." 

"Yes,  yes,  yes,  but,  but,  but  .  .  .  Have  you 
seen  God?" 

"Yes,  with  my  inner  eye.  Therefore,  I  believe 
on  Him.  But  it  is  not  necessary  for  you  to  see 
Him,  in  order  for  me  to  believe  on  Him." 

"But  knowledge  is  the  highest." 


1 8  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

"Yes,  but  faith  is  the  highest  of  all." 

"Do  you  know  what  you  believe?" 

"Yes,  although  you  don't  know  it." 

"Prove  it." 

"By  two  concurring  witnesses?  Here  in  this 
district  alone  I  can  collect  two  million  witnesses. 
That  must  be  sufficient  proof  for  you." 

"But,  but,  but,  but"  .  .  .  And  so  on. 

Al  Mansur  in  the  Gymnasium. — Damascenus 
came  into  a  large  gymnasium,  which  at  first  he 
thought  was  empty.  But  presently  he  noticed 
that  men  stood  along  the  walls  with  their  backs 
turned  towards  him,  so  that  he  only  saw  their 
perukes  and  red  ears.  "Why  do  they  stand  and 
look  at  the  wall,  and  why  do  they  have  such  red 
ears?"  he  asked  his  teacher. 

"They  are  ashamed  of  themselves,"  answered 
the  teacher.  "During  their  lifetime  they  were 
regarded  as  very  clever  fellows,  but  now  they 
have  discovered  their  stupidity." 

"What  is  stupidity?" 

"He  is  stupid,  in  the  first  place,  who  is  unprac- 
tical. These  have  practised  gymnastics  all  their 
Kves,  but  never  used  the  strength  which  they 
have  gained.  Furthermore,  he  is  stupid  who  finds 
it   difficult    to   comprehend    simple   propositions, 


TKe  Ni^Htin^ale  in  tHe  Vineyard     19 

self-evident  propositions  or  axioms;  for  instance, 
the  axiom  of  the  existence  of  God.  He  is  also 
stupid  who  cannot  understand  a  logical  proof;  he 
who  cannot  accept  reasonable  premises,  can  draw 
no  correct  inferences.  But  the  height  of  stupidity- 
is,  not  to  be  able  to  accept  an  explanation  founded 
on  fact.  When  the  Apostles  told  Thomas  that 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  was  risen  from  the  dead, 
he  could  not  receive  the  new  truth,  because  it  was 
beyond  his  horizon.  Such  a  man  is  usually 
called  thick-headed,  is  he  not?" 

Damascenus  did  not  answer,  but  his  ears  grew 
red,  for  he  saw  behind  on  the  spring-board  a  man 
whom  he  thought  he  recognised  by  his  broad  neck 
and  small  ears. 

"What  are  you  looking  at?"  asked  the  teacher. 

"Who  is  the  man  there?" 

"He  was,  or  was  called  Al  Mansur,  the  Vic- 
torious, because  he  lost  all  battles  but  one — the 
battle  with  himself.  By  the  Greeks  he  is  called 
Chrysoroas,  or  *  Golden  Stream ' ;  by  the  Romans, 
John  of  Damascus." 

The  Nightingale  in  the  Vineyard. — Johann 
went  with  his  teacher  through  a  vineyard,  at  the 
season  when  the  vines  were  flourishing  and  ex- 
haling their  delicious  perfume,   which  resembles 


20  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

that  of  the  mignonette.  "Do  you  notice  the  fine 
scent  ? ' '  asked  the  teacher.  ' '  Oh  yes ;  it  is  the  scent 
of  the  vines."  "Can  you  see  it?"  "No,  it  is  in- 
visible." "Then  you  can  beHeve  in  what  is  invisi- 
ble, as  well  as  enjoy  it.  You  are,  then,  on  the  way." 
A  nightingale  was  singing  in  a  pomegranate 
tree.  "  Can  you  see  her  notes?  "  asked  the  teacher. 
"But  you  are  delighted  by  them.  Similarly, 
I  delight  in  the  invisible  God  through  His  way 
of  revealing  Himself  in  beauty,  goodness,  and 
righteousness.  Do  you  think  God  cannot  reveal 
Himself,  like  the  nightingale,  by  invisible  but 
audible  tones?"  "Yes,  certainly."  "Then  you 
believe  in  revelations?"  "Yes,  I  am  obliged  to." 
"You  believe  that  God  is  a  Spirit?"  "Yes." 
"Then  you  believe  in  spirits?"  "That  is  an 
incorrect  inference.  I  believe  in  one  Spirit." 
"Have  not  men  spirits  or  souls  in  their  bodies?" 
"Certainly."  "Then  you  believe  in  spirits,  i.  e. 
in  the  existence  of  spirits?"  "You  are  right;  I 
believe  in  spirits."  "Don't  forget  that  the  next 
time  one  asks  you.  And  don't  be  afraid  when 
the  Lord  of  Dung  comes  and  threatens  you  with 
the  loss  of  bread,  honour,  wife,  and  child." 

The  Miracle  of  the  Corn-crakes. — One  summer 
evening  the  teacher  went  with  Johann  through 


THe  Miracle  of  tHe  Corn-craKes    21 

the  clover-fields.  There  they  heard  a  sound, 
' '  Crex !  crex ! "  "  What  is  that  ? ' '  asked  the  teacher. 
"The  corn-crake,  of  course."  "Have  you  seen 
the  corn-crake?"  "No."  "Do  you  know  a 
man  who  has  seen  it?"  "No."  "How  do  you 
know,  then,  that  it  is  it?"  "Everyone  says  so." 
"Look!  If  I  throw  a  stone  at  it,  will  it  fly  up?" 
"No,  for  it  cannot  fly,  or  flies  very  badly."  "But 
in  autumn,  it  always  flies  to  Italy!  How  does 
that  happen?"  "I  don't  know."  "What  do 
the  zoologists  say?"  "Nothing."  "Do  you  be- 
lieve that  it  flies  over  the  Sound,  runs  through 
Germany,  and  wanders  over  the  Alps  or  through 
the  St.  Gothard  Tunnel?"  "They  say  nothing 
about  it."  "Well!  Brehm  calculates  there  are 
a  pair  of  larks  to  every  acre  of  field  and  meadow; 
if  we  reckon  that  there  are  a  pair  of  corn-crakes 
to  every  two  acres,  then  there  are  in  our  country 
in  spring  five  million  corn-crakes.  The  female 
lays  from  seven  to  twelve  eggs  during  the  summer, 
so  that  in  autumn  in  our  coimtry  there  are  five- 
and-thirty  million  corn-crakes.  Ought  they  not 
to  be  visible  when  they  fly  over  the  Sound?" 
"  I  cannot  explain  it.  A  bad  flyer  cannot  fly  over 
the  Sound.  Is  it  possible  that  they  go  round  by 
the  Gulf  of  Bothnia?"  "No,  for  they  have  rivers 
to  cross,  and  one  would  see  their  flight  like  that 


22  Xones  of  tKe  Spirit 

of  the  lemmings.  Besides,  in  England  there  are 
seventy  million  corn-crakes  every  autumn,  and 
they  cannot  go  by  land."  "Then  a  miracle 
happens."  "What  is  a  miracle?"  "What  one 
cannot  explain,  but  has  no  right  to  deny."  "Then 
the  flight  of  the  corn-crakes  is  a  miracle;  it  must 
take  place  according  to  unknown  natural  laws 
or  be  supernatural?" 

Corollaries. — The  teacher  said:  "The  bee  is  a 
little  creature,  but  gives  plenty  of  honey.  The 
corn-crake  is  a  little  bird,  but  it  has  shown  us  that 
some  of  the  most  ordinary  natural  occurrences 
cannot  be  explained  by  known  natural  laws,  and 
must  therefore  be  regarded,  for  the  present,  as 
supernatural,  and  for  the  rest,  be  taken  on  faith. 

"You  have  never  seen  the  corn-crake  in  fields 
or  meadows,  but  you  believe  that  it  is  there.  If 
now  a  sportsman  came,  who  had  shot  the  bird, 
you  would  be  more  quickly  convinced  that  the 
bird  does  appear  in  the  district,  even  though  the 
sportsman  were  a  liar. 

"But  the  fact  that  millions  of  birds  not  accus- 
tomed to  flying  cannot  fly  over  great  spaces  of 
water  or  Alpine  glaciers,  does  not  explain  the 
autumn  flight  of  the  corn-crakes. 

"Since   this   cannot   be   explained   on   natural 


PKantasme  -wrHicK  -Are  Real  23 

grotinds,  it  is  supernatural.  We  must  accordingly 
admit  that  we  believe  sometimes  on  the  super- 
natural, or  on  miracles. 

"From  this  proved  thesis  you  can  deduce  the 
corollaries  for  yourself  if  you  possess  the  faculty 
of  drawing  inferences." 

Phantasms  which  Are  Real. — The  teacher 
asked:  "Can  one  see  a  phantasm?" 

"What  is  a  phantasm?" 

"There  are  in  optics  real  images  which  can  be 
caught  on  a  screen.  An  image  reflected  in  a  flat 
mirror  cannot  be  caught  upon  a  screen,  and  is 
therefore  a  phantasm.  Can  you  see  your  image 
in  a  flat  mirror?" 

"Yes." 

"Then  you  can  see  a  phantasm,  or  an  imreal 
image.  The  eye,  therefore,  is  a  skilful  instrument, 
which  can  make  the  unreal  real.  One  might 
thus  be  tempted  to  believe  in  ghosts." 

"What  are  ghosts?" 

"They  are  phantasms,  or  imreal  images  which 
the  eye  can  take  in  at  certain  distances.  Great 
and  credible  men,  such  as  Luther,  Swedenborg, 
and  Goethe,  have  seen  ghosts." 

"Goethe?" 

"Yes;  in   the  eleventh  book   of  Aus  meinem 


24  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

Leben  he  relates  how  he  met  the  image  of  himself 
upon  a  country  road.  'I  saw,  that  is  to  say,  not 
with  the  eye  of  the  body,  but  of  the  spirit,' 
he  adds.  Do  you  consider  Goethe's  testimony 
credible?" 

"Yes." 

"Well,  such  sights  are  not  seen  every  day, 
just  as  the  hoopoo  is  not  seen  every  day.  But 
that  does  not  give  one  any  right  to  doubt  that 
they  are  seen." 

Crex,  crex! — The  pupil  asked:  "What  is 
chance?" 

"It  means  something  accidental,  irregular, 
illogical  in  the  occurrence  of  an  event.  But  the 
word  is  often  misused  by  those  who  see,  but  do 
not  understand.  For  instance,  if  after  an  evil 
deed  you  are  systematically  persecuted  by  mis- 
fortune, that  is  no  chance.  Firstly,  because  the 
misfortimes  appear  regularly,  but  chance  is 
irregular.  Secondly,  because  the  punishment  fol- 
lows logically  on  the  evil  deed,  and  chance  is 
illogical.     It  is  therefore  something  else." 

"Yes,  it  must  be  so.  But  what  is  it  that  causes 
me  to  fail  in  all  my  undertakings,  to  meet  in  the 
streets  only  enemies,  to  be  cheated  in  all  the 
shops,  to  get  the  worst  eatables  in  the  market, 


Electric  Battery  and  EartK  Circuit   25 

to  read  only  of  wickedness  in  the  papers,  not  to 
receive  pleasant  letters  though  they  have  been 
posted,  to  miss  my  train,  to  see  the  last  cab 
engaged  under  my  nose,  to  be  given  the  only  room 
in  the  hotel  where  a  suicide  has  been  committed, 
not  to  meet  the  person  I  have  taken  a  special 
journey  to  see;  to  have  the  money  I  earn  immedi- 
ately snatched  away,  to  have  to  remain  in  a 
strange  town  from  which  all  my  acquaintances 
have  gone?  Then  at  last,  when  I  have  no  food, 
and  am  on  the  point  of  drowning  myself,  I  find 
a  shilling  in  the  street.  That  cannot  be  chance? 
What  is  it  then?" 

"It  is  something  else,  but  how  it  happens  we 
don't  know,  since  we  know  so  little  about  the 
most  ordinary  phenomena." 

"That's  only  twaddle." 

"Crex,  crex!" 

"That 's  the  corn-crake." 

"Yes,  it  is." 

The  Electric  Battery  and  the  Earth  Circuit. — 

The  pupil  feigned  ignorance,  and  asked:  "What 
is  religion?" 

"If  you  do  not  know  from  experience  or  intui- 
tion, I  cannot  explain  it  to  you;  in  that  case  it 
would  only  seem  to  you  folly.     But  if  you  know 


26  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

beforehand,  you  will  be  able  to  receive  my  explan- 
ations, which  are  many.  Religion  is  connected 
with  the  Source  or  the  head  station.  But  in 
order  to  carry  on  a  conversation  one  must  have 
an  earth-current." 

"What  is  that?" 

"That  is  the  draining  off  of  superfluous  earth- 
liness  to  the  earth.  As  one  advances  in  technical 
knowledge,  one  learns  to  speak  without  a  wire. 
But  for  that  there  are  necessary  strong  streams 
of  electricity,  clean  instruments,  and  clear  air. 
The  electric  battery  is  Faith,  which  is  not  merely 
credence,  but  an  apparatus  for  receiving  and 
arousing  the  divine  electricity.  Unless  you  be- 
lieve in  the  possibility  of  success  in  an  under- 
taking, you  will  not  set  to  work,  and  accordingly 
you  acquire  no  energy.  With  faith  and  a  good 
will  all  is  possible." 

"But  Faith  is  a  gift  for  all  that." 

"Yes;  but  if,  from  pride  or  obstinacy,  you 
refuse  to  receive  it,  it  is  no  gift  for  you.  Is  that 
clear?" 

Improper  and  Unanswerable  Questions. — The 

pupil  asked:  "If  God  is  one,  why  are  there  several 
religions?" 

"Since  the  existence  of  God  is  an  axiom,  you 


Superstition  and  Non-S\iper«tition   2^ 

should  say,  'Since  God  is  one,  why  are  there 
several  religions?'  I  answer:  I  do  not  know,  and, 
strictly  speaking,  it  does  not  concern  me.  All 
agree  in  the  chief  point — that  there  is  a  God,  and 
that  the  soul  is  immortal." 

"If  the  soul  is  immortal,  how  is  it  that  there 
are  men  who  regard  their  souls  as  mortal,  and 
speak  of  the  present  life  as  their  only  one?" 

"Their  feelings  may  be  perverted,  like  a  man's 
who  believes  he  has  a  snake  in  his  stomach.  Per- 
haps they  have  committed  soul-suicide.  Perhaps 
they  think  the  doctrine  of  immortality  fooHsh, 
or  their  souls  are  really  so  rudimentary  that  they 
can  be  buried  and  dissolved.  If  that  is  the  case, 
one  cannot  argue  with  them,  for  they  are  right  as 
regards  themselves.  Either  theirs  is  an  abnormal 
case,  or  their  perceptions  are  perverse;  I  cannot 
say  which.  I  am  inclined  to  regard  the  question 
as  among  those  which  are  unanswerable,  or  which 
have  not  yet  been  answered,  or  which  should  not 
be  asked/' 

Superstition  and  Non-Superstition. — The  pupil 
asked:  "What  is  superstition?" 

"I  don't  know;  but  a  sterile  intellect  calls 
the  highest  axioms  superstitions,  e.  g.  God,  the 
religious    life,    conscience.     The    believing    fertile 


28  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

intelligence,  on  the  other  hand,  calls  it  supersti- 
tion when  an  unbeliever  avoids  a  squirrel,  spits 
when  he  sees  an  old  woman  or  when  one  wishes 
him  luck,  or  dares  not  begin  a  journey  on  the 
thirteenth  of  the  month." 

"What  is  witchcraft?" 

"When  bad  men  misemploy  their  psychic 
forces  on  weaker  minds,  dazzle  them,  or  torment 
them  from  a  distance,  and  so  on.  You  have  seen 
all  this  at  hypnotic  seances.  In  them,  for  exam- 
ple, the  medium's  eyesight  can  be  so  perverted  as 
to  take  a  raw  potato  for  an  apple." 

"Are  there  then  witches?" 

"Yes;  certainly  there  are.  An  ugly  and  evil 
woman,  who  so  dazzles  the  eyes  of  a  man  that 
he  sees  her  as  the  most  beautiful  and  best,  is  a 
witch." 

"Should  she  be  burnt?" 

"No,  for  she  bums  herself  through  her  wicked- 
ness when  she  meets  a  man  who  is  mail-clad  with 
the  love  of  God.  Then  the  missiles  of  the  witch 
rebound  and  strike  herself.  But  one  should  not 
talk  of  such.     He  who  touches  pitch  is  defiled." 

Through    Faith    to    Knowledge. — The    pupil 

asked:  "How  shall  I  know  that  I  believe  rightly?" 

"I   will   tell  you.     Doubt   the  regular  denials 


THrougH  FaitH  to   K.no"wleclge        29 

of  your  everyday  intelligence.  Go  out  of  your- 
self if  you  can,  and  place  yourself  at  the  believer's 
standpoint.  Act  as  though  you  believed,  and 
then  test  the  belief,  and  see  whether  it  agrees 
with  your  experiences.  If  it  does,  then  you  have 
gained  in  wisdom,  and  no  one  can  shake  your 
belief.  When  I  for  the  first  time  obtained  Sweden- 
borg's  Arcana  Ccelestia,  and  looked  through  the 
ten  thousand  pages,  it  appeared  to  me  all  nonsense. 
And  yet  I  could  not  help  wondering,  since  the 
man  was  so  extraordinarily  learned  in  all  the 
natural  sciences,  as  well  as  in  mathematics, 
philosophy,  and  political  economy.  Amid  the 
apparent  foolishness  of  the  book  were  some 
details  which  remained  riveted  in  my  memory. 

"Some  time  later,  in  my  ordinary  life,  there 
happened  something  inexplicable.  Subsequently 
light  was  thrown  upon  this  by  an  experience  which 
Swedenborg  refers  to  his  so-called  heaven  and 
his  so-called  angels.  Then  I  began  to  search  and 
to  compare,  to  make  experiments  and  to  find 
explanations.  I  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
Swedenborg  has  had  experiences  which  resemble 
those  of  earthly  life,  but  are  not  the  same.  This 
he  brings  out  in  his  theory  of  correspondences  and 
agreements.  The  theosophists  have  expressed 
it  thus:   parallel  with   the  earth-life  we  live  an- 


30  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

other  life  on  the  astral  plane,  but  unconsciously  to 
ourselves," 

The  Enchanted  Room.— The  pupil  became 
curious  and  asked:  "What  opened  your  eyes  as 
regards  Swedenborg?" 

"It  is  difficult  to  say,  but  I  will  try  to  do  so. 
In  my  lonely  dwelling  there  was  a  room  which  I 
considered  the  most  beautiful  in  the  world.  It 
had  not  been  so  beautiful  at  first,  but  great  and 
important  events  had  taken  place  there.  A  child 
had  been  bom  in  it,  and  in  it  a  man  had  died. 
Finally  I  fitted  it  up  as  a  temple  of  memory,  and 
never  showed  it  to  anyone. 

"One  day,  however,  the  demon  of  pride  and 
ostentation  took  possession  of  me,  and  I  took  a 
guest  into  it.  He  happened  to  be  a  'black  man,' 
a  hopeless  despairer,  who  only  believed  in  physical 
force  and  in  wickedness,  and  called  himself  'a 
load  of  earth. '  As  I  admitted  him  I  said,  '  Now 
you  wiU  see  the  most  beautiful  room  in  the  country. 
I  turned  on  the  electric  light,  which  generally 
poured  down  from  the  ceiling  such  a  blaze  that 
not  a  dark  comer  was  left  in  the  room.  The  man 
stood  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  looked  round, 
grumbled  to  himself,  and  said  '  I  can't  see  that. ' 

"As  he  spoke,  the  room  darkened,   the  walls 


Concemin^  Correspondences        31 

contracted,  the  floor  shrank  in  size.  My  splendid 
temple  was  metamorphosed  before  my  eyes.  It 
seemed  to  me  like  a  room  in  a  hospital,  with 
coarse  wall-papers;  the  beautiful  flowered  curtains 
looked  dirty ;  the  white  surface  of  the  little  writing- 
table  showed  spots;  the  gilding  was  blackened; 
the  brass  fittings  of  the  tiled  oven  were  tarnished. 
The  whole  room  was  altered,  and  I  was  ashamed. 
It  had  been  enchanted. 

Concerning  Correspondences. — "Now  comes 
Swedenborg,  but  his  explanation  is  somewhat 
difficult.  I  must  make  a  prefatory  remark,  in 
order  that  you  may  not  think  I  regard  myself  as 
an  angel.  By  'angel'  Swedenborg  means  a  de- 
ceased mortal,  who  by  death  has  been  released 
from  the  prison  of  the  body,  and  by  suffering  in 
faith  has  recovered  the  highest  faculties  of  his 
soiil.  It  is  necessary  to  bear  this  definition  of 
Swedenborg 's  in  mind,  and  to  remember  that 
it  does  not  apply  to  my  guest  or  myself. 

"Swedenborg  further  remarks  regarding  these 
dematerialised  beings:  'All  which  appears  and 
exists  around  them  seems  to  be  produced  and 
created  by  them.  The  fact  that  their  surround- 
ings are,  as  it  were,  produced  and  created  by 
them  is  evident,  because  when  they  are  no  longer 


32  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

there  the  surroundings  are  altered.  A  change  in 
the  surroundings  is  also  apparent,  when  other 
beings  come  in  their  place.  Elysian  plains 
change  into  their  trees  and  fruits;  gardens  change 
into  their  roses  and  plants,  and  fields  into  their 
herbs  and  grasses.  The  reason  for  the  appear- 
ance and  alteration  of  such  objects  is  that  they 
are  produced  by  the  wishes  of  these  angel  beings 
and  the  currents  of  thought  set  in  motion  thereby. ' 
"  Is  not  this  a  subtle  observation  of  Swedenborg's, 
and  have  not  the  facts  he  alleges  something  corre- 
sponding to  them  in  our  lower  sphere  ?  Does  it  not 
resemble  my  adventure  in  the  'enchanted  room?' 
Perhaps  you  have  had  a  similar  experience?" 

The  Green  Island. — The  pupil  answered:  "I 
have  certainly  had  strange  experiences,  but  did 
not  understand  them  because  I  thought  with  the 
flesh.  As  I  just  heard  you  say  that  our  experiences 
can  receive  a  symbolical  interpretation,  I  remem- 
bered an  incident  which  resembled  that  which 
you  have  just  related  and  compared  with  an 
observation  of  Swedenborg's.  After  a  youth 
spent  under  intolerable  pressure  and  too  much 
work,  a  friend  gave  me  a  sum  of  money  that  I 
might  spend  the  summer  on  the  sea  in  literary 
recreation.     When  I  saw  the  'Green  Island'  vi^th 


S'wedenbor^'s  Hell  33 

its  carpets  of  flowers,  beds  of  reeds,  banks  of 
willows,  oak  coppices,  and  hazel  woods,  I  thought 
that  I  beheld  Paradise.  Together  with  three 
other  young  poets  I  passed  the  summer  in  a  state 
of  happiness  which  I  have  never  experienced  since. 
We  were  fairly  religious,  although  we  did  not 
literally  believe  in  the  gods  of  the  state,  and  we 
lived,  as  a  rule,  innocently  enough,  with  simple 
pleasures  such  as  bathing,  sailing,  and  fishing. 

"But  there  was  an  evil  man  among  us.  He  was 
overbearing,  and  regarded  mankind  as  his  ene- 
mies; denied  all  goodness;  spied  after  others' 
faults;  rejoiced  in  others'  misfortunes.  Every 
time  he  left  us  to  go  to  the  town,  the  island  seemed 
to  me  more  beautiful;  it  seemed  like  Sunday.  I 
was  always  the  object  of  his  gibes,  but  did  not 
understand  his  malice.  My  friends  wondered 
that  I  was  not  angry  with  him,  as  I  was  generally 
so  passionate.  I  do  not  myself  understand  it, 
but  I  was  as  though  protected,  and  noticed 
nothing,  whatever  the  cause  may  have  been. 
Perhaps  you  ask  whether  the  island  really  was  so 
wonderful.  I  answer:  I  found  it  so,  but  perhaps 
the  beauty  was  in  my  way  of  looking  at  it." 

Swedenborg's  Hell. — The  pupil  continued: 
"The  next  summer  I  came  again,  but  this  time 

9 


34  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

with  other  companions,  and  I  was  another  man. 
The  bitterness  of  life,  the  spirit  of  the  time,  new 
teachings,  evil  companionship  made  me  doubt 
the  beneficence  of  Providence,  and  finally  deny 
its  existence.  We  led  a  dreadful  life  together. 
We  slandered  each  other,  suspected  each  other 
even  of  theft.  All  wished  to  dominate,  nobody 
would  follow  another  to  the  best  bathing-place, 
but  each  went  to  his  own.  We  could  not  sail,  for 
everyone  wished  to  steer.  We  quarrelled  from 
morning  till  night.  We  drank  also,  and  half  of  us 
were  treating  themselves  for  incurable  diseases. 
My  'Green  Island, '  the  first  paradise  of  my  youth, 
became  ugly  and  repulsive  to  me.  I  could  see 
no  more  beauty  in  nature,  although  at  that  time 
I  worshipped  nature.  But  wait  a  minute,  and 
see  how  it  agreed  with  what  Swedenborg  says! 
The  beautiful  weed-fringed  bay  began  to  exhale 
such  miasmas,  that  I  got  malarial  fever.  The 
gnats  plagued  us  the  whole  night  and  stung 
through  the  thickest  veil.  If  I  wandered  in  the 
wood,  and  wished  to  pluck  a  flower,  I  saw  an 
adder  rear  its  head.  One  day,  when  I  took  some 
moss  from  a  rock,  I  saw  immediately  a  black 
snake  zigzagging  away.  It  was  inexplicable. 
The  peaceable  inhabitants  must  have  been  in- 
fected by  our  wickedness,  for  they  became  mali- 


Preliminary  Rno-wledge  Necessary    35 

cious,  ugly,  quarrelsome,  and  enacted  domestic 
tragedies.  It  was  hell!  When  I  became  ill,  my 
companions  scoffed  at  me,  and  were  angry,  because 
I  had  to  have  a  room  to  myself.  They  borrowed 
money  from  me,  which  was  not  my  own,  and 
behaved  brutally.  When  I  wanted  a  doctor,  they 
would  not  fetch  him." 

The  teacher  broke  in:  "That  is  how  Swedenborg 
describes  hell." 

Preliminary  Knowledge  Necessary. — The  pupil 
asked:  "Is  there  a  hell?" 

"You  ask  that,  when  you  have  been  in  it?" 

"I  mean,  another  one." 

"What  do  you  mean  by  another  one?  Has 
your  experience  not  sufficed  to  convince  you  that 
there  is  one?" 

"But  what  does  Swedenborg  think?" 

"I  don't  know.  It  is  possible  that  he  does  not 
mean  a  place,  but  a  condition  of  mind.  But  as 
his  descriptions  of  another  side  agree  with  our 
experiences  on  this  side  in  this  point,  that  when- 
ever a  man  breaks  the  connection  with  the  higher 
sphere,  which  is  Love  and  Wisdom,  a  hell  ensues, 
it  does  not  matter  whether  it  is  here  or  there.  He 
uses  parables  and  allegories,  as  Christ  did  in  order 
to  be  understood. 


36  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

"Emerson  in  his  Representative  Men  regards 
Swedenborg's  genius  as  the  greatest  among 
modem  thinkers,  but  he  warns  us  against  stereo- 
typing his  forms  of  thought.  True  as  transitional 
forms,  they  are  false  if  one  tries  to  fix  them  fast. 
He  calls  these  descriptions  a  transitory  embodi- 
ment of  the  truth,  not  the  truth  itself." 

"But  I  do  not  yet  understand  Swedenborg." 
"  No,  because  you  have  not  the  necessary  prelim- 
inary knowledge.  Just  like  the  peasant  who  came 
to  a  chemical  lecture  and  only  heard  about  letters 
and  numbers.  He  considered  it  the  most  stupid 
stuff  he  had  ever  heard :  '  They  could  only  spell,  but 
could  not  put  the  letters  together.'  He  lacked  the 
necessary  preliminary  knowledge.  Still,  when  you 
read  Swedenborg,  read  Emerson  along  with  him." 

Perverse  Science.  —  The  teacher  continued: 
"Swedenborg  never  found  a  contradiction  between 
science  and  religion,  because  he  beheld  the  har- 
mony in  all,  correspondences  in  the  higher  sphere 
to  the  lower,  and  the  unity  underlying  opposites. 
Like  Pythagoras,  he  saw  the  Law-giver  in  His 
laws,  the  Creator  in  His  work,  God  in  nature, 
history  and  the  life  of  men.  Modem  degenerate 
science  sees  nothing,  although  it  has  obtained  the 
telescope  and  microscope. 


TrutK  in  Error  37 

"Newton,  Leibnitz,  Kepler,  Swedenborg,  Lin- 
nffius,  the  greatest  scientists  were  religious  God- 
fearing men.  Newton  wrote  also  an  Exposition 
of  the  Apocalypse.  Kepler  was  a  mystic  in  the 
truest  sense  of  the  word.  It  was  his  mysticism 
which  led  to  his  discovery  of  the  laws  regulating 
the  courses  of  the  planets.  Humble  and  pure- 
hearted,  those  men  could  see  God  while  our 
decadents  only  see  an  ape  infested  by  vermin. 

"The  fact  that  our  science  has  fallen  into  dis- 
harmony with  God,  shows  that  it  is  perverse, 
and  derives  its  light  from  the  Lord  of  Dung." 

Truth  in  Error. — The  teacher  continued:  "Let 
us  return  for  a  moment  to  your  green  island. 
There  you  discovered  that  the  world  is  a  reflection 
of  your  interior  state,  and  of  the  interior  state  of 
others.  It  is  therefore  probable  that  each  carries 
his  own  heaven  and  hell  within  him.  Thus  we 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  religion  is  something 
subjective,  and  therefore  outside  the  reach  of 
discussion. 

"The  believer  is  therefore  right  when  he  re- 
ceives spiritual  edification  from  the  consecrated 
Bread  and  Wine.  And  the  unbeliever  is  also  not 
wrong  when  he  maintains  that  for  Mm  it  is  only 
bread  and  wine.     But  if  he  asserts  that  it  is  the 


38  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

same  with  the  behever,  he  is  wrong.  One  ought 
not  to  punish  him  for  it;  one  must  only  lament 
his  want  of  intelligence.  By  calling  religion  sub- 
jective, I  have  not  thereby  diminished  its  power. 
The  subjective  is  the  highest  for  personality, 
which  is  an  end  in  itself,  inasmuch  as  the  education 
of  man  to  superman  is  the  meaning  of  existence. 

"But  when  many  individuals  combine  in  one 
belief,  there  results  an  objective  force  of  tremen- 
dous intensity,  which  can  remove  mountains 
and  overthrow  the  walls  of  Jericho. 

Accumulators. — "When  a  race  of  wild  men  be- 
gin to  worship  a  meteoric  stone,  and  this  stone 
is  subsequently  venerated  by  a  nation  for  centu- 
ries, it  accumulates  psychic  force,  i.  e.  becomes  a 
sacred  object  which  can  bestow  strength  on  those 
who  possess  the  receptive  apparatus  of  faith.  It 
can  accordingly  work  miracles  which  are  quite 
incomprehensible  to  unbelievers. 

"Such  a  sacred  object  is  called  an  amulet,  and 
is  not  really  more  remarkable  than  an  electric 
pocket-lamp.  But  the  lamp  gives  light  only  on 
two  conditions — that  it  is  charged  with  electricity 
and  that  one  presses  the  knob.  Amulets  also 
only  operate  under  certain  conditions. 

"The  same  holds  good  of  sacred  places,  sacred 


Eternal  PunisKinent  39 

pictures  and  objects,  and  also  of  sacred  rites 
which  are  called  sacraments. 

"But  it  may  be  dangerous  for  an  unbeliever  to 
approach  too  near  to  an  accumulator.  The 
faith-batteries  of  others  can  produce  an  effect  on 
them,  and  they  may  be  killed  thereby,  if  they 
possess  not  the  earth-circuit  to  carry  off  the 
coarser  earthly  elements, 

"  The  electric  car  proceeds  securely  and  evenly  as 
long  as  it  is  in  contact  with  the  overhead  wire  and 
also  connected  with  the  earth.  If  the  former  contact 
is  interrupted,  the  car  stands  still.  If  the  earth- 
circuit  is  blocked,  an  electric  storm  is  the  result,  as 
was  the  case  with  St.  Paul  on  the  way  to  Damascus." 

Eternal  Punishment. — The  pupil  asked:  "What 
is  your  belief  regarding  eternal  punishments?" 

"Let  me  answer  evasively,  so  to  speak:  since 
wickedness  is  its  own  punishment,  and  a  wicked 
man  cannot  be  happy,  and  the  will  is  free,  an  evil 
man  may  be  perpetually  tormented  with  his  own 
wickedness,  and  his  punishment  accordingly  have 
no  end. 

"But  we  will  hope  that  the  wicked  will  not 
adhere  to  his  evil  will  for  ever.  A  wicked  man 
often  experiences  a  change  of  nature  when  he  sees 
something  good.     Therefore,  it  is  our  duty  to  show 


4*^  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

him  what  is  good.  The  consciousness  of  fataHty 
and  being  damned  comes  to  everyone,  even  to 
the  incredulous.  That  proves  that  there  is  an 
inborn  sense  of  justice,  a  need  to  punish  oneself, 
and  that  quite  independent  of  dogmas.  More- 
over, it  is  a  gross  falsehood  that  the  doctrine  of 
hell  was  invented  by  Christianity.  Greeks  and 
Romans  knew  Hades  and  Tartarus  with  their 
refined  tortures;  the  Jews  had  their  Sheol  and 
Gehenna;  the  cheerful  Japanese  rival  Dante  with 
their  Inferno.  It  is  therefore  thoughtless  non- 
sense to  make  Christian  theology  solely  responsible 
for  the  doctrine  of  hell.  It  would  be  just  as  fair 
to  trace  it  to  the  cheerful  view  of  life  of  the  Greeks 
and  Romans,  who  first  came  upon  the  idea." 

"Desolation." — The  teacher  continued:  "When 
this  feeling  of  fatality  strikes  an  unbeliever,  it 
often  appears  as  the  so-called  persecution-mania. 
He  believes  himself,  for  example,  persecuted  by 
men  who  wish  to  poison  him.  Since  his  intel- 
ligence is  so  low  that  he  cannot  rise  to  the  idea  of 
God,  his  evil  conscience  makes  him  conjure  up 
evil  men  as  his  persecutors.  Thus  he  does  not 
understand  that  it  is  God  who  is  pursuing  him, 
and  therefore  he  dies  or  goes  mad. 

"But  he  who  has  strength  enough  to  bow  him- 


A  World  of  Delusion  41 

self,  or  intelligence  enough  to  guess  at  a  method 
in  this  madness,  cries  to  God  for  help  and  grace, 
and  escapes  the  madhouse.  After  a  season  of 
self -chastisement,  life  begins  to  grow  lighter; 
peace  returns;  he  succeeds  in  his  undertakings; 
his  'Green  Island'  again  blooms  with  spring. 
This  feeling  of  woebegoneness  often  occurs  about 
the  fortieth  or  fiftieth  year.  It  is  the  balancing 
of  books  at  the  solstice.  The  whole  past  is 
summed  up,  and  the  debit-side  shows  a  plus 
which  makes  one  despair.  Scenes  of  earlier  life 
pass  by  like  a  panorama,  seen  in  a  new  light; 
long-forgotten  incidents  reappear  even  in  their 
smallest  details.  The  opening  of  the  sealed 
Book  of  Life,  spoken  of  in  the  Revelation,  is  a 
veritable  reality.  It  is  the  day  of  judgment. 
The  children  of  the  Lord  of  Dung  who  have  lost 
their  intelligence  understand  nothing,  but  buy 
bromkali  at  the  chemist's  and  take  sick-leave 
because  of  'neurasthenia.'  That  is  a  Greek 
word,  which  serves  them  as  an  amulet. 

"Swedenborg  calls  this  natural  process  'the 
desolation'  of  the  wicked.  The  pietists  call  it 
the  'awakening'  before  conversion." 

A  World  of  Delusion. — "Swedenborg  writes: 
'The  angels  are  troubled  concerning  the  darkness 


42  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

on  earth.  They  say  that  they  can  see  hardly 
any  Hght  anywhere,  that  men  hve  and  strengthen 
themselves  in  lying  and  deceit,  and  so  heap  up 
falsity  upon  falsity.  In  order  to  ratify  these, 
they  manage  to  extract,  by  way  of  inference,  such 
true  propositions  from  false  premises,  as,  on 
account  of  the  darknesses  which  conceal  the  true 
sources,  and  because  the  real  state  of  the  case  is 
unknown,  cannot  be  refuted. ' 

"This  agrees  with  what  every  thinking  man 
observes,  that  lying  and  deceit  are  universal. 
The  whole  of  life — politics,  society,  marriage,  the 
family — is  counterfeit.  Views  which  universally 
prevail  are  based  upon  false  history;  scientific 
theories  are  founded  on  error;  the  truth  of  to-day 
is  discovered  to  be  a  lie  to-morrow ;  the  hero  turns 
out  to  be  a  coward,  the  martyr  a  hypocrite.  Te 
Deums  are  sung  over  a  silver  wedding,  and  the 
wedded  pair,  still  secretly  leading  immoral  lives, 
thank  God  that  they  have  lived  together  happily 
for  five-and-twenty  years.  The  whole  populace 
assembles  once  in  a  year  to  celebrate  the  memory 
of  the  '  Destroyer  of  the  Coimtry.'  He  who  says 
the  most  foolish  thing  possible,  receives  a  prize 
in  money  and  a  gold  medal.  At  the  annual  asses' 
festival,  the  worst  is  crowned  the  asses'  king. 

"A  mad  world,  my  masters!  If  Hamlet  plays  the 


Conversion  of  tHe  CHeerful  Fa^an  43 

madman,  he  sees  how  mad  the  world  is.  But  the 
spectator  beheves  himself  to  be  the  only  reasonable 
person,  therefore  He  gives  Hamlet  his  sympathy." 

The  Conversion  of  the  Cheerful  Pagan,  Horace. 

— "Among  the  conventional  falsehoods  of  the 
apes,'  one  of  the  best  known  is  that  conversion 
from  irreligion  is  a  purely  Christian  doctrine. 
By  looking  into  Kumlin's  Swedish  translation 
of  Horace,  even  a  schoolboy  can  find  this  heading 
to  the  thirty-fourth  ode  of  the  first  book,  'The 
Religious  Conversion  of  the  Poet.' 

"Horace  belonged  to  the  Epicurean  sect  who 
only  believed  in  phantom  gods,  because  they  held 
that  the  divinities  did  not  trouble  themselves 
with  the  course  of  the  world  or  of  events,  but 
enjoyed  a  careless  life  of  continual  ease.  Horace 
accordingly  had  not  been  remarkably  zealous  in 
his  religious  duties.  But  a  sudden  flash  of  light- 
ning and  a  heavy  peal  of  thunder  from  a  clear 
sky  taught  him  at  last  that  it  was  no  blind  un- 
conscious force  of  nature,  but  the  hand  of  a  God, 
which  hurled  the  lightning.  Thereby  he  was 
awoken  to  reflection,  and  tried  to  warn  and  sober 
his  frivolous  countrymen  by  dwelHng  on  the 
power  of  Jupiter.     'God  can  change  the  lowest 

*  Materialistic  evolutionists. 


44  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

with  the  highest;  He  puts  down  the  exalted  and 
upHfts  the  obscure.' 

"After  this  Horace  preached  Hke  a  Jeremiah 
against  the  corruption  of  rehgion  and  morals. 
A  modem  'ape'  might  feel  justified  in  calling 
him  a  pietist  since  he  was  converted! 

Cheerful  Paganism  and  its  Doctrine  of  Hell. 

— *'Origeti  against  Celsus  is  the  title  of  the  first 
refutation  of  the  lying  accusations  which  the 
pagans  have  brought  against  Christianity.  Who 
will  write  a  second?  Who  will  show  that  the 
hell  of  the  pagans  was  seven  times  worse  than 
that  of  the  Christians?  In  some  Christian 
countries  the  Christian  religion  may  not  be 
taught  in  the  schools,  but  boys  are  obliged  to 
read  Virgil's  Sixth  i^neid,  which  describes  the 
terrors  of  the  underworld. 

"There  is  the  Lernasan  Hydra,  the  Chimasra, 
Gorgons,  and  Harpies.  On  the  banks  of  Cocytus 
roam  crowds  of  the  unburied;  there  they  must 
roam  for  centuries  because  they  have  never 
found  a  grave.  Is  that  humane?  Then  there 
are  the  poor  suicides  everlastingly  immersed  in 
the  Styx.  And  the  field  of  mourning  where 
unhappy  lovers  hide  themselves.  'Even  after 
death  their  pangs  are  not  ended.' 


FaitK  tKe  CKief  TKin^  45 

"But  these  were  comparatively  innocent.  Crim- 
inals, however,  are  punished  first  by  the  fury 
Tisiphone.  She  seizes  the  damned,  mocks  them 
with  helHsh  laughter,  and  threatens  them  with 
snakes.  A  Hydra  opens  fifty  black  jaws.  .  .  . 
And  so  on  till  we  come  to  the  sieve  of  the  Danaids, 
the  wheel  of  Txion,  the  thirst  of  Tantalus. 

"Let  us  remember,  however,  that  the  men 
of  the  Renaissance,  Dante  and  Michael  Angelo, 
have  depicted  the  most  extreme  torments,  as 
though  they  believed  in  them.  Anyone  who 
wants  to  see  how  the  cheerful  Japanese  describe 
hell,  can  look  at  the  pictures  which  Riotor  and 
Leofanti  published  in  Paris,  1895,  in  the  Enfers 
Bouddhiques. " 

Faith  the  Chief  Thing. — The  teacher  continued : 
"Pietism  is  a  condition  of  repentance,  which  men 
pass  through  like  a  purifying  bath  and  gain  a 
consciousness  of  inward  cleanliness.  It  is  there- 
fore no  hypocrisy,  as  the  children  of  the  Lord  of 
Dimg  suppose.  He  who  is  severe  towards  him- 
self may  easily  appear  malicious  to  the  unintelli- 
gent ;  and  he  who  has  suffered  for  his  wickednesses 
feels  himself  freed  from  the  past.  This  feeling 
the  unbelievers  call  'self-satisfaction.' 

"A    penitent    never    attains    perfection,    but 


46  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

ceaselessly  relapses  into  the  desires  of  the  flesh. 
This  may  easily  cause  him  to  appear  a  hypocrite. 
Luther  quickly  saw  that  it  is  impossible  to  make 
one's  acts  correspond  to  one's  belief.  Therefore 
he  laid  stress  on  faith,  let  acts  go,  and  adduced 
as  his  authority  St.  Paul's  solution  of  the  paradox : 
*So  I  obey  the  law  of  God  with  the  spirit,  but  with 
the  flesh   the  law  of  sin.' 

"Faith,  Hope,  and  Love:  that  is  the  essence 
and  kernel  of  religion.  One's  acts  never  come  up 
to  one's  faith,  and  often  lag  far  behind  it.  But 
there  are  some  pious  souls  who  persist  in  remain- 
ing in  the  condition  of  penance,  and  it  may  easily 
seem  as  though  they  wished  to  gain  heaven  in 
advance  of  the  rest.  But  we  should  not  blame 
them  for  it.  There  may  be  secret  reasons  which 
we  do  not  know,   and  have  never  experienced. 

"Socrates  regarded  the  sense  of  shame  and 
conscience  as  what  distinguished  man  from  the 
beasts.     To  these  two  Christ  added  pity." 

Penitents. — The  teacher  continued :  "  Muham- 
med  early  traversed  the  stage  of  desolation  and 
became  a  pietist,  when  he  believed  himself  per- 
secuted by  devils.  Set  free  finally  by  suffering 
and  prayer,  he  exclaims  in  the  93rd  Sura:  *By 
the  forenoon,  and  the  night  when  it  darkens,  thy 


Penitents  47 

Lord  has  not  forsaken  thee  or  hated  thee,  and  surely 
the  future  for  thee  will  be  better  than  the  past. 
And  thy  Lord  will  give  thee  sufficient,  and  thou 
shalt  be  satisfied.  Did  He  not  find  thee  an 
orphan  and  give  thee  shelter?  and  find  thee 
erring  and  guide  thee?  and  find  thee  poor  with 
a  family  and  nourish  thee?  But  as  for  the 
orphan,  oppress  him  not;  and  as  for  the  beggar, 
drive  him  not  away;  and  as  for  the  favour  of 
thy  Lord,  discourse  thereof!'  When  Buddha 
left  his  father's  palace  and  saw  the  sufferings 
of  men  and  the  instability  of  life,  he  became 
a  penitent,  left  wife  and  child,  went  into  the 
wilderness,  and  chastened  himself  by  fasting 
and  renunciation.  But  after  he  had  undergone 
the  severest  penances,  he  cautiously  returned  to 
ordinary  life,  and  allowed  himself  moderate  en- 
joyments in  order  not  to  devastate  his  soul. 
Some  of  his  disciples  deserted  him  and  called 
him  a  recreant,  but  that  did  not  trouble  him. 

"Goethe  himself  passed  through  religious  crises, 
and  was  at  one  period  intimate  with  the  Herm- 
huters,  the  pietists  of  that  time.  In  his  old  age, 
when  he  grew  wise,  he  became  a  mystic,  i.  e. 
he  discovered  that  there  are  things  between 
heaven  and  earth  of  which  the  'Beans'  have 
never  let  themselves  dream." 


48  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

Paying  for  Others. — The  pupil  said:  "I  must 
confess  that  I  do  not  understand  the  Atonement." 

"You  mean,  understand  it  with  everyday  in- 
teUigence.  No  one  can.  The  highest  questions 
cannot  be  solved  by  us,  just  as  little  as  problems 
of  the  fourth  dimension.  But  the  solution  is 
given  to  us,  if  we  ask  for  it  in  a  proper  way. 

"As  regards  the  redemptive  work  of  Christ, 
you  can  comprehend  it  by  an  analogy.  You 
remember,  when  you  owed  so  many  debts,  that 
there  were  knocks  at  your  door  all  day  long,  that 
you  had  to  go  out  early  in  the  morning  in  order 
to  borrow,  or  to  escape  your  creditors.  Finally 
you  feared  your  room  so,  that  you  dared  not  go 
home  to  sleep.  You  sat  on  a  seat  in  the  park, 
and  said  to  yourself,  *It  is  hell!'  Then  there 
came  a  man  who  knew  you;  he  paid  your  debts; 
you  called  him  your  saviour.  Do  you  not  see 
that  one  can  pay  for  another,  and  deliver  him?" 

"Yes,  but  one  cannot  make  an  evil  deed  un- 
done." 

"No,  but  the  Almighty  can  obliterate  it  from 
our  memory,  and  from  the  memory  of  others. 
But  mark  this  well :  every  time  that  you  rummage 
in  the  past  of  another,  although  it  has  been  atoned 
for,  the  memory  of  your  own  evil  deeds  starts 
up.    Just  like  a  badly  washed  stain  which  goes 


The  Lice-Hing'  49 

through  the  stuff  and  appears  on  the  other  side. 
All  miracles  are  conditional,  just  as  vows  are." 

The  Lice-King. — As  the  teacher  roamed  one 
day  in  Qualheim  he  came  into  a  wood  under 
whose  shadow  many  decaying  funguses  grew. 
On  a  footpath  he  saw  what  he  thought  at  first 
was  a  snake  writhing  about.  It  was  no  snake, 
however,  but  a  mass  of  grubs  clotted  together. 
The  teacher  asked  his  guide:  "What  is  the 
meaning  of  that?" 

"Ask  first  what  it  is;  then  I  will  tell  you  the 
meaning  of  it." 

"Well?" 

"These  are  the  larvag  of  the  snake- worm,  which 
are  obliged,  like  clay  and  wadded  straw,  to  hold 
together  in  order  not  to  perish.  They  love  poison- 
ous funguses,  and  cannot  bear  the  light.  They 
maintain  their  existence  by  a  mutual  interchange 
of  slime,  without  which  they  become  dead  and 
dry.  But  they  call  darkness  light,  because  the 
sun  would  kill  them.  They  feed  on  the  poison- 
ous funguses.  They  hate  each  other,  but  must 
keep  together.  Do  you  understand  now,  or 
not?" 

"What  is  the  name  of  the  creature?" 

"It    is    called    the    snake-worm    or    lice-king, 

4 


50  Z^ones  of  tHe  Spirit 

appears  once  in  every  generation,  and  is  a  herald 
of  evil  times." 

"What  does  it  mean  then?" 

"It  is  a  symbol  of  the  men  who  talk  with  their 
faces  turned  backwards,  and  therefore  see  every- 
thing distorted;  who  call  evil  good,  and  good 
evil.  Because  they  live  in  pride  and  self-love 
they  cannot  see  God,  but  elect  one  of  the  mass 
to  be  their  king,  and  believe  that  they  are, 
collectively,  God.  By  'freedom,'  they  mean 
freedom  to  do  evil.  Often  an  ox  or  cow  comes 
by  and  treads  upon  the  motely  mass.  Then,  of 
course,  it  is  obliterated  in  slime,  but  another  soon 
takes  it  place." 

"It  seems  to  be  as  eternal  as  evil." 

The  Art  of  Life. — The  teacher  said:  "Life 
is  hard  to  live,  and  the  destinies  of  men  appear 
very  different.  Some  have  brighter  days,  others 
darker  ones.  It  is  therefore  difficult  to  know 
how  one  should  behave  in  life,  what  one  should 
believe,  what  views  one  should  adopt,  or  to  which 
party  one  should  adhere.  This  destiny  is  not 
the  inevitable  blind  fate  of  the  ancients,  but  the 
commission  which  each  one  has  received,  the  task 
he  must  perform.  The  theosophists  call  it  Karma, 
and  believe  it  is  connected  with  a  past  which  we 


TKe  Mitigation  Destiny  51 

only  dimly  remember.  He  who  has  early  discovered 
his  destiny,  and  keeps  closely  to  it,  without  compar- 
ing his  with  others,  or  envying  others  their  easier 
lot,  has  discovered  himself,  and  will  find  life 
easier.  But  at  periods  when  all  wish  to  have  a 
similar  lot,  one  often  engages  in  a  fruitless  struggle 
to  make  one's  own  harder  destiny  resemble  the  lot 
of  those  to  whom  an  easier  one  has  been  assigned. 
Thence  result  disharmony  and  friction.  Even 
up  to  old  age,  many  men  seek  to  conquer  their 
destiny,  and  make  it  resemble  that  of  others." 

The  pupil  asked:  "If  it  is  so,  why  is  not  one 
informed  of  one's  Karma  from  the  beginning?" 

The  teacher  answered:  "That  is  pure  pity 
for  us.  No  man  could  endure  life,  if  he  knew 
what  lay  before  him.  Moreover,  man  must  have 
a  certain  measure  of  freedom;  without  that,  he 
would  only  be  a  puppet.  Also  the  wise  think 
that  the  voyage  of  discovery  we  make  to  dis- 
cover our  destiny  is  instructive  for  us.  'Let  My 
Grace  be  sufficient  for  thee;  My  strength  is  made 
perfect  in  weakness.' " 

The  Mitigation  of  Destiny. — The  teacher  con- 
tinued: "Some  appear  to  be  destined  to  honour 
and  wealth,  others  only  to  honour,  and  others 
only  to  wealth.     Many  seem  to  be  bom  to  hu- 


52  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

miliations,  poverty,  and  sickness — ^*  struck  like  a 
coin  in  the  mint,'  as  the  saying  is.  Everyone 
can  mitigate  his  destiny  by  submitting  and 
adapting  himself  to  it' — by  resignation,  in  a  word. 
The  inward  happiness  which  one  gains  thereby, 
excels  all  outward  prosperity.  All  things  work 
for  good  to  him  who  serves  God.  The  man 
who  does  not  strive  after  honour  and  wealth  is 
impregnable;    in    a    certain    sense,    all-powerful. 

"The  hardest  thing  is  to  see  the  injustice  in  the 
world;  but  even  that  can  be  overcome  by  taking 
it  as  a  trial.  If  the  wicked  prospers,  let  him; 
we  have  nothing  to  do  with  it.  Besides,  his  happi- 
ness is  not  so  great  when  one  looks  closer  at  it. 

"When  you  are  persecuted  by  misfortune,  and 
your  conscience  cannot  call  it  deserved,  take  it 
quietly.  Regard  the  endurance  of  the  ordeal  as 
an  honour.  There  will  come  a  day  when  every- 
thing will  improve.  Then  perhaps  you  will 
discover  that  the  misfortunes  were  benefits,  or, 
at  any  rate,  afforded  opportunity  for  exercising 
endurance.  Envy  no  man;  you  know  not  what 
his  envied  lot  might  conceal,  if  it  actually  came 
to  changing  places." 

The  Good  and  the  Evil.— The  pupil  asked:  "Is 
there  really  such  a  great  difference  between  men?" 


TKe  Good  and  tHe  Evil  53 

The  teacher  answered:  "Yes  and  No!  But 
a  sure  mark  of  the  evil  man  is,  he  does  evil 
for  evil's  sake.  That  is  the  bad  man  —  the 
sarcastic  schoolmaster,  the  domestic  tyrant. 
That  is  the  child,  which  torments  its  mother 
by  finding  out  everything  she  dislikes.  That  is 
the  bad  wife,  the  fury,  who  enjoys  torturing 
and  humiliating  a  man  who  only  wishes  her 
good. 

"  In  the  battles  of  life  it  is  quite  human  to  rejoice 
when  a  foe  is  defeated.  On  all  battlefields  God 
has  been  thanked  for  the  victory.  That  is  some- 
thing different. 

"When  one  sees  the  insolent  struck  by  mis- 
fortune, one  rejoices  that  there  is  justice.  When 
one  sees  the  wicked  punished,  one  feels  satisfaction 
at  seeing  the  balance  of  equity  restored.  That  is 
something  different. 

"But  he  who  rejoices  over  every  evil  deed  which 
he  himself  has  been  under  no  necessity  of  commit- 
ting; he  who  rejoices  when  the  criminal  escapes 
his  punishment;  he  who  gloats  over  the  mis- 
fortune of  a  good  man ;  he  who  suffers  when  good- 
ness and  merit  are  rewarded — that  is  the  evil 
man.  Such  were  those  who  clamoured  for  the 
murderer  Barabbas's  release  and  perhaps  gave 
a  feast  in  his  honour." 


54  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

Modesty    and    the    Sense    of    Justice. — The 

teacher  continued:  "Properly  speaking,  the 
question  you  should  have  asked  just  now  is, 
'What  men  are  good?'  Socrates,  according  to 
Plato,  said,  'Those  who  possess  modesty  and 
a  sense  of  justice.  Those  are  the  religious 
men.' 

"He,  on  the  other  hand,  who  has  neither  faith 
nor  hope,  can  assume  the  outward  aspect  of  an 
honourable  man.  But  when  his  worldly  interests 
or  advantages  are  concerned,  he  lets  honour  drop. 
Similarly,  when  it  is  a  question  of  saving  one  of 
his  associates  from  punishment.  Then  he  can 
bear  false  witness,  and  believe  it  is  a  good  act. 
He  does  not  stick  at  helping  forward  an  unworthy 
friend  or  relative.  He  will  swear  falsely  in  order 
to  attack  a  believer.  He  thinks  everything  law- 
ful, i.  e.  on  his  side  against  others,  and  he  never 
repents  anything,  saying  to  himself,  'He  who  lets 
himself  be  misled  must  pay  for  it.' 

"When  a  religious  man  makes  a  slip,  he  is  wont 
to  feel  ashamed,  and  to  reproach  himself.  Often 
he  is  naive  enough  to  confess  his  fault  or  his  mis- 
doing. Then  the  Lice- King  shouts  '  Hurrah !'  For 
he  woiild  never  be  so  simple.  Still,  though  a  believer 
fall  seventy  times  and  seven,  he  rises  again  and 
confesses  his  fault.     That  is  the  difference," 


Derelicts  55 

Derelicts. — The  pupil  asked:  "How  is  one 
to  judge  of  the  men  who  are  overthrown  in  the 
battle  of  life  without  being  armed  for  the  conflict? 
You  remember  such  characters  at  school;  they 
could  not  learn,  could  not  attend;  they  were  not 
ashamed,  however,  but  regarded  themselves  as  a 
kind  of  victims.  They  left  school,  went  out  into 
life,  and  collapsed.  It  was  not  the  fault  of  their 
domestic  surroundings,  for  they  came  of  good 
families,  who  supported  them.  They  were  not 
bad,  possessed  talents,  were  clever,  but  had  no 
knowledge  and  no  interests  in  life.  'What  is 
the  object  of  it?'  they  were  in  the  habit  of  saying. 
They  could  not  bring  themselves  to  work,  but 
dozed  at  their  desks.  They  seemed  to  be  bom 
to  do  nothing,  which  is  a  punishment  for  the 
active.     Explain  to  me  their  destiny!" 

"That  I  cannot." 

"Some  have  died  young  in  poverty;  others 
begged  their  way  through  to  their  sixtieth  year, 
while  they  saw  former  school-fellows  who  had 
been  worse  than  they,  prosper  and  flourish." 

"I  have  seen  and  lamented  them,  but  I  cannot 
explain  their  destiny." 

"^Then  they  are  not  to  blame,  and  yet  live  such 
lives  of  shame  and  poverty;  that  is  cruel." 

"Hush!     Criticise    not    Providence!     What    is 


56  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

now  inexplicable  may  some  day  be  explained! 
And  remember  that  life  is  not  paradise.  Two 
shall  be  grinding  at  one  mill;  one  shall  be  taken, 
and  the  other  left!" 

Human  Fate. — The  teacher  said:  "The  des- 
tinies of  men  are  obscure;  therefore  one  should 
be  extremely  careful  in  judging.  The  Tower 
of  Siloam  was  ready  to  fall,  and  fell  on  good  and 
evil  alike.  The  disciples  asked  Christ  what  sin 
the  man  born  blind  had  committed.  Christ 
answered  that  neither  he  nor  his  parents  had 
committed  any  special  sin.  When  we  see  how 
some  are  born  crippled,  blind,  deaf,  and  dumb, 
we  had  best  be  silent.  To  lament  their  lot  may 
annoy  them,  for  they  seem  to  be  protected  in  a 
mysterious  way.  They  are  objects  of  pity,  and 
seldom  fall  into  abject  poverty.  They  are  good- 
humoured  through  life,  and  hardly  seem  to  suffer 
under  their  ailments.  But  woe  to  the  man  who 
ridicules  anyone  marked  out  by  such  a  fate! 
If  he  is  persistently  pursued  by  calamity,  or 
struck  himself  by  a  greater  misfortune,  one  can 
hardly  ignore  it  by  using  the  formula  'chance.' 
A  person  who  had  scoffed  at  a  blind  man  was 
struck  in  the  eye  by  a  stone  which  was  thrown 
into  a  tramcar.     At  first  he  was  alarmed,   and 


Dark  Rays  57 

thought  of  Nemesis.  But  when  he  heard  that 
the  stone  had  been  so  hurled  as  the  result  of  some 
blasting  operations  he  became  cheerful,  i.  e.  more 
ignorant,  and  said  it  was  a  chance.  He  saw  the 
phenomenon,  but  nothing  behind  it;  the  effect, 
but  not  the  cause. 

"The  'Beans'  cannot  see  beyond  their  noses. 
Sometimes,  when  they  have  long  noses,  they  see 
somewhat  further.  The  supernatural  in  nature 
is  incomprehensible  to  their  intelligence.  Indeed, 
all  which  passes  their  limited  understanding  is  for 
them  supernatural.  That  is  logical,  but  these  rus- 
tics regard  it  as  illogical." 

Dark  Rays. — As  the  teacher  wandered  through 
his  Inferno,  he  came  to  a  temple  of  black  granite, 
which  was  quite  dark  inside.  Within  it  some- 
thing was  going  on,  but  he  could  not  distinguish 
what. 

"What  is  it?"  he  asked  a  white-robed  figure, 
which  wore  a  laurel- wreath,  but  had  a  green 
face  spotted  blue  like  a  corpse.  "That  is  a 
temple  of  Hght,"  it  answered;  "but  the  initiated 
cannot  see  our  black  rays  until  he  receives  the 
white  arsenic-kiss  from  the  ultra-violet  priestess." 

"Give  me  the  kiss,"  answered  the  teacher,  but 
he   turned  his  back   to  her  at   the   same   time. 


58  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

However,  she  did  not  notice  this,  as  she  could 
not  distinguish  back  from  front.  Now  his  eyes 
were  opened,  and  he  saw  how  within  the  temple 
they  were  offering  incense  to  their  "gods  of 
light,"  as  they  called  them.  There  stood  the 
murderer  Barabbas,  a  halo  round  his  head,  and 
a  plate  on  his  breast  with  the  inscription:  "Ac- 
quitted because  of  insufficient  evidence."  There 
sat  Judas  Iscariot  under  his  fig-tree,  with  the 
thirty  pieces  of  silver,  in  the  bosom  of  his  family, 
promoted  to  be  general-director  of  customs.  There 
were  the  Emperor  Nero,  fresh  from  the  bath,  with 
a  white  dove  on  his  hand,  and  Julian  the  Apostate 
near  an  altar,  with  geese  sacrificed  upon  it. 

The  priests  and  priestesses  sang  a  chant  of 
New  Birth  and  Resurrection,  burned  incense 
compounded  of  rose-leaves  and  arsenic-acid,  and 
danced  a  snake-dance,  which  they  called  "the 
joy  of  life."  Then  they  began  to  quarrel  about 
a  laurel- wreath,  and  fought  one  another.  As 
the  teacher  went,  they  all  sat  there  in  the  dark- 
ness and  wept.  But  when  a  fresh  north  wind 
blew  through  the  temple,  they  trembled  like  dry 
leaves. 

Blind  and  Deaf. — The  teacher  said:  "There 
are,  as  you  know,  people  with  whom  one  cannot 


Blind  and  Deaf  59 

be  angry.  Perhaps  it  is  because  of  their  natural 
good-nature,  which  shines  even  through  a  cutting 
jest.  And  there  are  people  whose  malice  comes 
to  light  long  after  one  has  met  them.  Such  an 
after-effect  I  have  experienced  myself. 

"  Five-and-twenty  years  after  a  conversation 
with  a  man,  I  felt  angry  with  him.  Naturally, 
during  a  sleepless  night,  when  memory  threw  a 
new  light  on  the  scene  which  had  taken  place 
between  us.  Not  till  then  did  the  insulting 
word  he  spoke  receive  its  proper  signification, 
which  I  now  understood.  There  are  words  which 
can  murder.  Such  a  word  this  one  was.  What 
a  good  thing  that  I  did  not  understand  it  at  the 
time!  It  would  have  resulted  in  calamity  to 
four  people. 

"By  developing  a  peculiar  instinct  I  have 
succeeded  in  fabricating  a  kind  of  diving-costume, 
with  which  I  protect  myself  in  society.  When 
the  insulting  word  or  the  biting  allusion  is  uttered, 
the  sound  certainly  reaches  my  ear,  but  the 
receptive  apparatus  refuses  to  let  it  go  further. 
In  the  same  way  I  can  make  myself  literally 
blind.  I  obliterate  the  face  of  the  person  I  dis- 
like. How  it  is  done,  I  do  not  know,  but  it 
seems  to  be  a  psychological  process.  The  face 
becomes  a  dirty  whitish-grey  spot  and  disappears. 


6o  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

It  is  necessary  to  make  oneself  deaf  and  blind,  or 
it   is  impossible  to  live. 

"One  must  cancel  and  go  on!  That  is  gener- 
ally called  'forgiving,'  but  it  may  be  a  device 
of  the  revengeful  for  sparing  himself  trouble, 
or  a  scheme  of  the  sensitive  for  not  letting  insults 
reach  him.  One  cannot  undertake  more  than 
one  can  bear!" 

The  Disrobing  Chamber. — The  teacher  con- 
tinued:    "Swedenborg  says  in  his  Inferno  ..." 

"Say  'Hell,'"  the  pupil  interrupted  him.  "I 
know  that  there  is  a  hell,  for  I  have  been  in  it." 

"Well,  Swedenborg  has  in  his  Hell  a  disrobing 
chamber  into  which  the  deceased  are  conducted 
immediately  after  their  death.  There  they  lay 
aside  the  dress  they  have  had  to  wear  in  society 
and  in  the  family.  Then  the  angels  see  at  once 
whom   they  have   before   them." 

"Does  Swedenborg  then  mean  that  we  are  all 
hypocrites?" 

"Yes,  in  a  certaiti  way.  An  inborn  modesty 
compels  us  to  conceal  what  has  to  do  with  the 
animal;  politeness  obliges  us  to  be  silent  on 
many  points.  Consideration,  friendship,  kinship, 
love,  oblige  us  to  overlook  our  neighbour's  weak- 
nesses,   although   we   disapprove    them   even   in 


TKe  CKaracter  MasK  6i 

ourselves.  A  man  who  is  ashamed  of  his  faults 
is  also  silent  about  them.  To  boast  of  one's 
faults    is    shamelessness." 

"Can  one  really  call  such  consideration  hy- 
pocrisy?" 

"Hardly;  especially  as  things  go  wrong,  how- 
ever one  behaves." 

"Yes,  life  is  not  easy;  it  is  hard  to  be  a  man; 
almost  impossible." 

The  Character  Mask. — The  teacher  said:  "I 
knew  in  my  youth  a  man  who  was  imperious, 
quick  to  anger,  revengeful,  emotional.  Accident- 
ally his  gifts  as  a  speaker  were  discovered.  He 
could  thrill  the  minds  of  his  hearers,  bring  them 
into  touch  with  himself,  lift  them  up — yes,  and 
nearly  carry  them  away.  But  on  one  occasion 
when  he  was  at  the  height  of  his  oratory  he  halted, 
became  grotesque  and  ridiculous,  and  people 
laughed.  The  first  time  that  this  happened,  he 
was  depressed.  But  they  thought  he  wished  to 
produce  a  comical  effect,  and  he  obtained  the 
reputation  of  a  humorous  speaker. 

"Out  of  his  misfortune  he  made  a  virtue, 
accepted  the  role  which  had  been  assigned  to 
him,  and  finally  enjoyed  a  great  popularity  as  a 
humourist.     He    often    felt   annoyed   at    having 


62  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

to  play  the  part  of  a  buffoon,  but  the  desire  to  hear 
his  own  voice  and  to  be  greeted  with  applause 
unceasingly  spurred  him  on  to  win  new  triumphs. 
"Society  had  made  of  him  a  sort  of  'homun- 
culus,'  which  it  cultivated.  But  in  his  family 
and  in  his  office  it  was  not  to  be  found." 

Youth  and  Folly.— The  teacher  said:  "What 
do  you  think  of  the  proverb,  'The  young  imagine 
that  the  old  are  fools,  and  the  old  know  that  the 
young  are  fools?'  " 

"It  is  quite  true.  When  I  was  young,  I 
imagined  that  I  understood  everything  better 
than  the  old,  but  I  really  understood  nothing.  I 
was  young  and  stupid,  confused  my  own  know- 
ledge with  that  of  others',  believed  that  what  I 
had  learnt  was  my  own.  When  I  had  read  a 
book,  I  went  into  society  and  proclaimed  what  I 
had  read,  as  though  it  were  my  own  discovery, 
I  was  therefore  a  thief. 

"But  I  was  the  victim  of  another  delusion,  i.  e. 
I  believed  that  I  understood  all  that  I  remembered, 
or  that  I  knew  what  I  happened  at  the  moment 
to  remember.  For  instance,  when  I  was  fourteen 
I  did  not  understand  logarithms,  but  I  learnt  the 
way  of  proceeding  with  them  by  heart,  and  used 
logarithms  as  a  short-cut. 


WKen  I  -was  Yoxing  and  Stvipid     63 

"When  one  studies  a  science  in  detail,  one 
begins  to  collect  material,  else  the  result  is  nil. 
But  the  young  man  attacks  the  difficult  science 
of  life  without  experience,  i.  e.  without  material. 
And  the  result  is  what  we  see. 

"I  can  see  myself  now  as  a  young  student. 
How  proud  I  was  of  borrowed  knowledge  and 
borrowed  plumes!  How  I  despised  the  old! 
And  yet  all  that  I  had  stolen  from  books  was 
stolen  from  the  old,  who  had  written  the  text- 
books. The  young  write  no  text-books.  O 
Youth !     O     Foolishness ! 

When  I  was  Young  and  Stupid. — "When  I 
was  young  and  stupid,  I  always  had  a  band  of 
hearers  who  saw  a  light  in  me.  When  I  grew 
older,  and  wisdom  came,  I  was  left  alone  with 
my  lecture  and  regarded  as  an  old  ass.  But 
the  passage  from  youth  to  age  was  bitter,  when  I 
discovered  that  the  old  could  not  be  deceived. 
They  read  my  secret  thoughts  behind  my  lofty 
words;  they  anticipated  my  evil  purposes;  they 
unmasked  my  crude  desires;  the^^  prophesied  the 
results  of  my  actions;  and  found  in  my  past  the 
true  cause  of  my  present  condition.  They  seemed 
to  me  to  be  wizards  and  prophets,  although  they 
were  simple  characters. 


64  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

"When  I  asked  myself  how  they  could  know 
this  and  that,  I  found  the  answer  later — because 
they  had  collected  material;  because  they  had 
passed  through  all  the  stages  which  were  new  to 
me;  because  they  had  also  tried  to  deceive  the 
old  in  the  same  way,  but  had  not  succeeded. 
Youth,  however,  is  always  believing  that  it  can 
deceive  old  age,  were  it  only  by  stealing  a  thought 
from  him.  I  know,  moreover,  why  the  young 
obstinately  imagine  they  are  superior  because 
they  can  deceive.  There  are  old  wise  men  who 
have  come  to  terms  with  life,  and  therefore 
think  it  a  duty  to  let  themselves  be  deceived 
now  and  then;  they  let  themselves  be  deceived 
tastefully. 

"Youth  is  only  an  idea,  an  abstraction,  a  boast, 
a  theme  for  an  essay,  a  song,  a  toast!" 

Constant  Illusions. — The  pupil  continued: 
"When  I  was  young  I  was  never  really  happy, 
because  my  seniors  oppressed  me,  because  the 
future  disquieted  me,  because  I  lived  on  my 
parents'  money  almost  as  though  I  were  a  pen- 
sionary. When  the  first  symptoms  of  love  showed 
themselves,  life  became  a  hell.  I  was  never  very 
well,  for  the  most  serious  illnesses — measles,  scar- 
let   fever,  agues,  croup,  and   others — affect  only 


Constant   Illusions  65 

the  young.  I  could  never  satisfy  an  innocent 
fancy,  for  I  had  no  money;  every  desire  was 
nipped  in  the  bud.  I  was  a  slave,  for  my  time 
was  not  at  my  own  disposal,  and  I  could  not 
leave  my  place  in  order  to  visit  foreign  coim- 
tries.  Such  is  the  huge  humbug  which  is  called 
'youth.'  No  one  has  dared  to  unmask  it,  for 
fear  lest  the  young  might  pelt  him  with  stones, 
or  draw  caricatures  of  him  on  the  walls.  The 
teachers  in  the  schools  crouch  before  them,  flatter 
them,  pretend  to  envy  them.  If  anyone  comes 
who  does  not  flatter  these  shameless  and  con- 
scienceless little  bandits,  these  lewd  apes  who 
live  in  the  age  of  innocence,  these  parent- 
murderers — there  is  always  some  old  woman  there 
who  exclaims,  'Ah!  he  does  not  understand  the 
young ! '  He  understands  them  very  well,  for  he 
has  been  young  himself.  But  the  yoimg  do 
not  understand  the  old,  for  they  have  never 
been  old. 

"The  young  assert  that  the  future  is  in  their 
hands,  and  that  therefore  they  are  feared  by  the 
cowardly.  Let  us  wait  and  see!  If  thirty  per 
cent,  reach  the  future  at  all,  they  will  work  just 
as  their  elders  have  done,  and  with  the  thoughts 
which  they  have  borrowed  from  them.  Excep- 
tions prove  the  rule." 
5 


66  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

The  Merits  of  the  MultipUcation-Table.— The 

teacher  said:  "All  wish  to  haul  at  the  rope 
called  'Development.'  The  word  generally  signi- 
fies 'alteration,'  and  men  usually  love  any  novelty 
which  does  not  injure  them.  But  there  are  some 
excellent  things  which  are  very  old,  and  therefore 
they  remain  unaltered.  The  multiplication-table, 
for  instance,  is  splendid,  though  it  is  said  to  be 
as  old  as  Pythagoras.  The  Rule  of  Three  holds 
good,  though  it  was  the  ancient  Hindus  who 
discovered  this  law  of  causes  and  effects.  The 
geometry  of  Euclid  and  the  logic  of  Aristotle  is 
still  read  in  the  schools.  Our  architecture  imitates 
Greek  and  Roman  models,  and  the  sculpture  of 
the  ancients  is  not  despicable.  We  regulate  our 
calendar  very  much  as  the  Egyptians  and  Chal- 
daeans  did.  Goethe  and  Schiller  can  be  read, 
and  Shakespeare  is  still  performed. 

"We  see,  therefore,  that  not  all  which  has  been 
done  in  the  past  is  to  be  despised.  He  who 
prophesies  that  Christianity  will  disappear  because 
it  is  old,  makes  a  miscalculation.  Homer  is  a 
thousand  years  older.  And  the  Old  Testament 
would  first  have  to  be  cancelled.  But  Christianity 
lives  and  flourishes,  although  it  may  be  in  secret 
and  not  published  in  the  newspapers.  Still  they 
sing    in    schools    and    barracks    every    morning, 


Under  tKe  Prince  of  tKe  "World     67 

'Trust  in  God  and  in  His  word  and  strength  in 
order  to  do  good.' 

"But  it  must  go  hard  with  the  Christians.  'In 
this  world  ye  have  tribulation.'  Through  period- 
ical seasons  of  bondage  under  Egyptian  Pharaohs, 
they  learn  patience  till  they  begin  their  wanderings 
in  the  wilderness." 

Under  the  Prince  of  this  World. — The  teacher 
wandered  in  Qualheim  and  came  to  a  town.  In 
the  midst  o!'  the  chief  market-place  there  stood 
a  bronze  image  of  the  destroyer  of  his  country. 
The  youth  of  the  place  came  out  in  holiday  attire 
in  order  to  celebrate  the  hero's  memory.  The 
teacher  asked  his  guide:  "Why  do  they  cele- 
brate the  destroyer  of  the  fatherland?" 

"I  do  not  know,"  answered  the  guide. 

"Are  they  mad?" 

"Probably.  Here  below  everything  is  topsy- 
turvy. This  hero'  was  considered  mad,  and 
certainly  he  was  so.  He  carried  on  mad  wars, 
fled  when  defeated,  and  cast  the  blame  on  others. 
When  misfortune  came  he  collapsed  like  a  weak- 
ling, took  to  his  bed,  and  pretended  to  be  ill. 
In  his  leisure  hours  he  plotted,  but  always  ill. 
At   last   he   made   false   coins,   but   managed    to 

'  He  probably  refers  to  Charles  XII  of  Sweden. 


68  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

procure  a  scapegoat,  who  was  broken  on  the  wheel. 
The  country  was  ruined  and  could  never  recover 
its  former  prestige." 

"And  this  is  the  man  they  celebrate?" 

"Yes!  but  they  have  other  statues  besides. 
There  back  in  the  park  stands  one,  crowned  with 
a  laurel-wreath.  He  was  the  wickedest  man  of 
his  time.  And  there  by  the  harbour  is  a  third 
statue — of  a  perjurer  ..." 

"That  is  just  as  it  is  with  us, "  said  the  teacher. 

"Yes,   it  is  about   the  same." 

"Where  are  we  then?" 

"Under  the  Prince  of  this  World,  the  Lord 
of  Dung.  'But  be  of  good  courage!  I  have 
overcome  the  world! '  " 

The  Idea  of  Hell.  —The  pupil  asked :  ' '  When  I 
read  Swedenborg's  Hell,  I  often  believed  he  was  de- 
scribing our  life  on  earth.  Is  it  possible  that  we  are 
already  there?  As  a  Christian,  I  have  learnt  that 
there  was  a  Fall  followed  by  a  curse.  Certainly  life 
seems  to  me  rather  an  Inferno  than  a  school  and  a 
prison,  for  nothing  keeps  what  it  promises.  The 
most  beautiful  things  seem  only  made  in  order  to 
become  ugly,  the  good  in  order  to  become  bad." 

"Have  you  never  seen  anything  permanently 
beautiful   here   below?" 


TKe  Idea  of  Hell  69 

"Yes,  Nature  at  all  seasons  is  so  beautiful,  that 
I  exclaim  with  a  feeling  of  pain,  '  How  super- 
naturally  beautiful !  And  we  are  so  hideous ! ' 
Life  may  also  seem  beautiful  in  a  well-ordered 
family  where  there  is  peace  and  happiness  and 
festival.  I  have  seen  it  so,  but  only  for  two 
minutes  at  a  time,  and  perhaps  it  was  my  way 
of  looking  at  it." 

"Yet  there  are  people  who  can  thrive  down 
here." 

"  He  who  can  thrive  here  is  a  pig.  I  know 
fellows  who  think  they  are  in  Paradise  when  they 
are  on  a  summer  holiday,  have  a  well-spread 
table  lit  up  by  Chinese  lanterns,  and  let  off 
rockets.  But  '  Woe  to  the  man  who  is  born 
sensitive! '  says  Rousseau.  Either  he  goes  under, 
or  he  must  arm  himself  with  brutality.  In  the 
last  case  it  may  happen  that  he  cannot  divest 
himself  of  the  armour,  which  has  become  a  second 
nature.  There  are  some  extremely  sensitive 
natures  who  cannot  come  to  terms  with  life  nor 
touch  reality.  These  unfortunates  finally  lose 
the  power  of  looking  after  themselves,  and  end 
in  asylimis." 

Self -Knowledge. — The  teacher  said:  "One 
may  have   already  lived   a  long  time,   consider 


70  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

oneself  a  respectable  man,  and,  as  such,  have 
enjoyed  the  esteem  of  others.  Then  there  comes 
a  day  when  one  awakes  as  out  of  slumber,  sees 
oneself  as  a  spectre,  is  alarmed,  and  asks,  'Am 
I  that  ?  *  One  discovers  that  one  has  done  things 
which  now  appear  inexcusable.  And  one  asks 
oneself,  'How  could  I?'  On  one  occasion  one 
has  even  committed  a  crime;  on  another,  one 
has  been  dragged,  so  to  speak,  by  the  hair;  on 
a  third,  one  fell  into  a  trap. 

"But  there  are  men  who  are  so  sleepy  that  they 
never  awake;  and  so  wanting  in  intelligence  that 
they  cannot  see  how  black  they  are.     Once  I  had 
a  friend  who  was  sixty  years  old.     On  one  occa- 
sion, with   an  outbreak  of   stupid   astonishment, 
he   exclaimed,     'Why    are   people   so  prejudiced 
against    me?     I    seem    to    myself    an    excellent 
fellow ! '     And  this  man  was  a  tyrant  who  trampled 
men  underfoot,  a  hired  executioner,  a  murderer 
who    betrayed    the    innocent,    took   bribes,    and 
practised   simony   and   all   kinds   of   wickedness. 
I   did   not  wish   to  condemn  him,   but   tried   to 
defend  him.     Perhaps  he  felt  justified  in  becoming 
an  executioner,  for  there  must  be  such  officials; 
so  he  adopted  it  as  a  profession.     He  had  an 
evil   nature,    and   found   it   therefore   natural   or 
right  when  he  acted  in  accordance  with  it.     He 


Somnambulism  and  Clairvoyance  71 

lived  in  complete  harmony  with  himself,  and 
those  who  resembled  him  pronounced  him  a 
'  fine  fellow  ' — '  healthy,  naive,  and,  therefore, 
excellent  society.' 

"  When  he  died,  I  drew  a  picture  of  his  character 
for  an  acquaintance.  The  latter  was  himself  a 
black  sheep,  and  answered  qmte  naively,  'You 
are  unfair  to  him;  I  think  he  was  a  fine  fellow.'" 

Somnambulism  and  Clairvoyance  in  Everyday 
Life.- — The  teacher  said:  "I  am  now  fifty-eight 
years  old,  and  have  seen  four  generations.  I  have 
not  been  pure-hearted,  for  all  black  blood  streams 
into  the  heart,  but  I  have  had  moments  in  which 
I  was  transported  into  a  childlike,  unconscious 
mood,  and  took  delight  in  intercourse  with  men. 
I  knew  that  they  hated  me,  laughed  at  my  mis- 
fortune, and  waited  for  my  fall.  But  I  was 
immune  against  their  malice.  I  saw  in  them 
only  poor  men,  who  liked  my  company  and 
were  sympathetic  with  me.  Even  when  they 
made  ill-natured  jests  against  me,  I  did  not 
understand  them ;  and  when  they  gave  vent  to 
an  open  rudeness,  I  took  it  as  a  meaningless  joke. 
That  is  a  kind  of  pleasant  somnambulism. 

"Often,  however,  I  can  be  wide-awake;  then  I 
see  society  naked;  I  see  their  dirty  linen  beneath 


72  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

their  clothes,  their  deformities,  their  unwashed 
feet.  But,  worst  of  all,  I  hear  the  thoughts 
behind  their  words;  I  see  their  gestures,  which  do 
not  harmonise  with  what  they  say;  I  intercept 
a  side-glance;  I  notice  a  foot-stamp  under  the 
table,  a  nose  turning  itself  up  over  my  wine,  or 
a  fork  critically  passing  by  a  dish.  .  .  .  Then 
life  seems  ghastly!  I  had  a  friend,  who  once 
in  society  had  an  attack  of  this  clairvoyance; 
he  sat  down  on  the  middle  of  the  table,  declared 
all  he  had  seen  in  the  course  of  the  evening, 
and  stripped  his  friends  bare.  The  result  was, 
he  was  pronounced  mad  and  taken  to  an  asylum. 
"There  are  many  kinds  of  madness.  Let  us 
confess  that ! " 

Practical    Measures    against    Enemies. — The 

pupil  asked:  "How  can  I  love  my  neighbour 
as  myself?  In  the  first  place,  I  ought  not  to 
love  myself;  secondly,  I  feel  so  out  of  sympathy 
with  men,  that  it  is  difficult  to  regard  them  as 
objects  of  love." 

The  teacher  answered:  "The  verb  aydnao!> 
generally  means  only  'treating  kindly,'  and  that 
you   can   manage   to   do." 

"But  to  love  one's  enemies  is  suicide." 
"You    think    so!     But    have    you    tried    this 


Practical  Measures  against  Enemies     73 

method?  It  is  very  practical,  and  I  have  tested 
it.  Once  against  my  worst  enemy,  who  attacked 
my  honour  and  means  of  HveHhood,  I  estabHshed 
a  wholesome  hatred  like  a  bulwark,  as  I  thought. 
But  my  hatred  became  a  conductor  by  which  I 
received  the  currents  of  his.  They  surprised  me 
in  my  weak  moments,  and  his  wickedness  passed 
over  to  me.  He  grew  to  gigantic  proportions, 
and  became  a  Frankenstein  which  I  had  myself 
produced. 

"Then  I  resolved  to  break  the  conductor.  I 
avoided  seeing  him,  and  never  mentioned  his 
name,  for  that  is  a  kind  of  incantation.  When 
people  spoke  of  him  in  society,  I  was  silent,  or 
threw  in  a  friendly  word  on  his  behalf.  My 
Frankenstein  pined  away  for  want  of  nourish- 
ment, and  disappeared  out  of  my  thoughts. 
Finally  information  reached  my  enemy  that  I 
had  spoken  good  of  him.  He  was  struck  with 
amazement,  dwindled  down,  felt  ashamed  of 
himself,  and  believed  he  had  made  a  mistake. 
Therefore,  never  speak  ill  of  your  enemy;  that 
only  rouses  people  in  his  defence,  and  procures 
him  friends.  You  see,  therefore,  what  deep 
wisdom  lies  in  the  simplest  teaching  of  the 
Gospel,  which  you  believed  yourself  competent 
to  criticise." 


74  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

The  Goddess  of  Reason. — The  teacher  con- 
tinued: "The  fact  that  our  intelHgence  finds 
so  many  contradictions  and  difficulties  in  the 
great  truths  of  religion  is  due  not  only  to  defects 
in  our  understanding  but  to  an  evil  will.  The 
presumption  of  wishing  to  understand  God  and 
His  purposes  is  as  though  one  attempted  to  steer 
a  frigate  with  an  oar.  Every  Greek  tragedy 
closes  with  a  warning  against  insolence  and  v/3pt^. 
Nothing  is  so  displeasing  to  the  gods. 

"Swedenborg  says:  'As  soon  as  we  break  our 
connection  with  what  is  higher,  our  understand- 
ing is  darkened.  At  the  same  time  we  are 
punished  by  being  allowed  to  imagine  ourselves 
more   illuminated   than   others.' 

"All  the  philosophers  of  the  'Illumination' 
grope  in  darkness.  That  period  of  history  which 
is  jestingly  called  the  '  Illumination '  is  the  darkest 
we  have  had.  The  goddess  of  reason,  Mademoiselle 
Maillard,  was  adored  only  by  madmen.  The 
truths  of  religion  never  contradict  reason  until 
the  latter  has  been  clouded  by  an  evil  will.  But 
then  the  discoveries  begin,  and  then  every  reli- 
gious truth  'contradicts  reason,'  such  as  the 
simple  truth  that  God  exists,  that  the  Almighty 
can  employ  unknown  laws  or  suspend  laws 
which  He  Himself  has  given,  that  He  can  impart 


Stars  Seen  by  Dayli^Ht  75 

spiritual  blessings  by  means  of  material  symbols, 
and  so  on. 

"All  'free-thinking'  is  foolishness,  for  thought 
is  not  free,  but  bound  by  the  laws  of  thought,  by 
logic,  just  as  nature  is  bound  by  the  laws  of  nature. 
The  evil  will  seeks  freedom  in  order  to  do  evil, 
and  the  evil  mind  seeks  freedom  in  order  to  think 
perversely." 

Stars  Seen  by  Daylight. — The  teacher  said: 
"The  fool  lives  only  for  the  present,  for  the 
moment,  in  the  last  fashionable  error  of  the  day, 
in  the  diving-bell  of  his  daily  paper,  in  dependence 
on  public  opinion,  in  the  slavery  of  partisanship. 
The  wise  man  lives  in  all  times.  For  him  there 
is  neither  time  nor  space.  He  is  present  always 
and  everywhere;  on  this  side  and  that  side  of 
the  grave.  He  ranges  over  the  world's  history 
and  fathoms  the  depths  of  himself;  he  regards 
himself  as  an  inhabitant  of  the  Universe,  and  not 
merely  of  the  earth.  He  feels  himself  related  to 
Plato  and  Aristotle;  holds  converse  with  the 
great  spirits  of  the  past  in  their  writings.  Some- 
times he  lives  in  his  childhood;  sometimes  in  his 
mature  age.  He  lives  in  the  past,  as  though  it 
were  present.  He  can  '  think  himself '  into  the 
lives  of  others;  he  rejoices  with  the  joyful,  mourns 


76  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

with  the  sorrowful,  sympathises  with  the  suffer- 
ing. He  feels  on  behalf  of  humanity;  has  no  age, 
no  nation.  He  sees  the  record  of  to-day's  con- 
flict laid  up  in  historical  archives,  often  without 
any  other  result.  On  the  morrow,  to-day's  wisdom 
is  only  straw,  in  which  something  else  grows; 
even  errors  are  useful  as  manure.  Everything 
serves.  He  bears  everything,  for  he  hopes;  and 
hope  is  a  virtue;  it  means  believing  good  of  God. 

"Ephemeral  flies  get  excited  about  trifles,  and 
believe  one  can  discover  new  truths  among  the 
telegrams  in  the  breakfast-table  newspaper.  If 
a  new  star  is  discovered,  they  believe  the  others 
are  extinguished.  But  hitherto  the  new  have 
all  been  extinguished.  The  new  star  in  Perseus 
appeared  only  for  two  years,  and  then  it  vanished. 
The  Chinese  Y-King  says,  'If  one  goes  into  one's 
tent,  and  makes  it  dark  about  one,  one  can  see 
the  star  Mei  in  the  Archer  in  broad  daylight.' 

"Retire  then  sometimes  to  your  tent  in  the 
wilderness,  and  you  will  see  the  stars  by  day." 

The  Right  to  Remorse. — The  pupil  asked: 
"Is  one  right  in  feeling  remorseful  for  one's  past, 
after  discovering  one's  errors?" 

"If  you  mean  by  'feeling  remorse,'  wishing 
the  past  undone,  you  are  not  right,  for  in  every 


THe  Ri^Ht  to  Remorse  77 

man's  life  there  is  a  rectifying  element;  every 
error  by  being  refuted  becomes  an  involuntary 
occasion  for  the  triumph  of  truth.  But  if  you 
mean  by  'remorse,'  hating  yourself  as  a  purveyor 
of  falsity,  you  are  right.  But  say  something  in 
your  own  defence. ' ' 

"I  can  say  this  much:  I  was  the  child  of  an 
evil  time;  I  was  misled  by  the  seducers  of  my 
youth;  I  mention  none  of  them.  My  under- 
standing was  stronger  than  my  divine  reason. 
Ivly  flesh  ruled  over  my  spirit.  My  inborn  de- 
fiance of  authority,  my  inherited  sensitiveness  of 
nature  received  impressions,  without  stopping  to 
criticise  them.  In  a  word,  I  might  call  myself 
a  victim  of  my  seducers,  of  heredity,  of  my 
natural  weakness,  and  sensitiveness.  The  final 
awakening  of  my  reason,  however,  I  reckon  not 
as  a  merit  of  my  own,  but  as  a  grace  conferred 
upon  me.  The  fact  that  I  have  had  sufficient 
time  in  which  to  refute  my  former  errors,  I  count 
as  the  greatest  good-fortune  which  has  ever  be- 
fallen me.  Therefore  I  do  not  wish  my  past 
undone,  although  I  abominate  it." 

A  Religious  Theatre. — "It  looks  as  though 
men  did  not  think  very  highly  of  themselves. 
If  they  see  a  maliciously  satirical  piece  represented, 


78  2^ones  of  tKe  Spirit 

they  enjoy  it  without  applying  it  to  themselves. 
They  take  it  as  intended  only  for  others. 

"  In  my  youth  there  was  a  dramatist,  who  was  at 
first  a  satirist,  but  finally  came  to  feel  sympathy 
with  men.  After  his  feelings  had  become  modi- 
fied by  his  living  a  steady  and  fairly  happy  life, 
he  saw  men  in  a  more  cheerful  light.  Accord- 
ingly, he  wrote  a  piece  portraying  only  noble 
characters  with  fine  feelings  and   warm  hearts. 

"What  happened?  The  public  believed  at 
first  it  was  irony.  But  during  the  second  act  they 
discovered  their  mistake.  A  voice  exclaimed 
from  the  stalls :  '  Deuce  take  it !  It  is  meant 
seriously!'  The  further  the  piece  progressed, 
the  greater  was  the  disgust!  The  audience  felt 
ashamed  before  each  other,  and  for  the  author. 
Some  hurried  out,  and  those  who  remained  ended 
by  laughing.  They  laughed  at  the  goodness, 
self-sacrifice,  renunciation,  forgiveness  depicted 
in  the  piece.  They  did  not  know  themselves 
any  more,  and  regarded  the  descriptions  as  un- 
natural; real  life,  they  said,  was  not  like  that; 
men  were  not  angels.  It  may  therefore  be  risky 
to  speak  well  of  men.  But  one  must  not  forget 
that  religious  people  do  not  visit  the  theatre, 
because  the  theatre  is  godless.  Greek  tragedies 
used  to  commence  with  a  sacrifice  to  the  gods, 


TKro\i|(K  Constraint  to  Freedom    79 

and  all  tragedies  deal  with  the  powerlessness  of 
men  in  conflict  with  deities.  Why  do  not  our 
religious  leaders  build  a  theatre  in  which  one 
might  see  the  evil  unmasked  and  put  to  shame?" 

Through  Constraint  to  Freedom. — The  teacher 
continued:  "This  world  is  governed  by  con- 
straint. All  men  are  dependent  on  one  another 
and  press  upon  one  another  like  the  stones  in  a 
vaulted  building — from  above,  from  below,  from 
the  sides.  They  watch  and  spy  on  one  another. 
There  is  therefore  no  freedom,  and  there  can  be 
none,  in  this  edifice  which  is  called  Government 
and  Society, 

"The  foundation-stones  have  the  most  to  bear; 
therefore  they  must  be  of  granite,  while  the  upper 
ones  are  of  light  brick.  For  there  are  fancy- 
bricks,  which  support  nothing,  but  are  merely 
ornamental;  they  are  supported  by  others,  feel 
themselves  in  the  way  and  dispensable;  but  they 
serve  as  ornaments,  and  of  that  they  are  aware. 

"He  who  demands  more  freedom  than  the  rest, 
is  a  thief  and  tyrant;  if  he  withdraws  himself 
from  his  burden,  he  lays  it  upon  others.  This 
perpetual  longing  for  freedom,  which  figures  in 
biographies  as  a  virtue  and  a  distinction,  is  really 
only  a  weakness.     More  strength  is  required  to 


8o  Zones  of  the  Spirit 

bear  than  to  be  borne.  The  only  justifiable 
striving  after  relative  freedom  is,  not  to  have  to 
bear  more  than  one  ought.  Therefore  it  is  the 
business  of  rulers  to  apportion  the  burdens 
precisely.  But  for  that,  adequate  knowledge,  a 
mathematical  gift,  and  a  nice  sense  of  justice  are 
necessary. 

"But  behind  this  common  longing  after  freedom 
lies  another  deeper  one,  which  is  confused  with 
the  former.  That  is  the  sighing  of  creation  for 
deliverance  from  the  bondage  of  the  flesh.  This 
has  found  its  strongest  expression  in  St.  Paul's 
exclamation:  'Oh,  wretched  man  that  I  am! 
Who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this 
death?'  But  this  freedom  can  only  be  won  by 
patiently  bearing  the  constraint  of  this  world. 
Through  constraint  is  the  way  to  freedom  there- 
fore!" 

The  Praise  of  Folly.— "In  this  world  of  fooHsh- 
ness  one  sees  constantly  how  fools  smile  even 
when  their  views  are  ratified  by  time.  That  is,  in 
truth,  a  silly  smile.  The  fool  says,  'We  are  here 
in  order  to  develop  ourselves.'  When  they  see 
a  man  who,  in  the  course  of  years,  has  grown 
wiser  and  more  righteous,  they  should  be  glad 
that    their   assertion   is   established.     Instead    of 


The  Praise  of  Folly  8l 

that  they  make  a  malicious  grimace,  and  say 
scornfully,  'Yes,  now  you  have  grown  old!'  Yet 
we  both  started  with  the  assumption  that  wisdom 
should  come  with  years.  Let  us  rejoice  together 
that  it  is  so.  If  the  Devil  really  becomes  a  monk 
when  he  is  old,  what  a  happiness  and  blessing 
for  mankind  that  there  is  one  evil  spirit  the  less. 
Is  it  not  so?  Why  should  they  make  a  grimace 
atit.f* 

"Voltaire  was  a  scoffer  and  a  bit  of  a  knave  up 
to  old  age.  Finally,  however,  he  recovered  his 
reason,  just  like  lunatics  shortly  before  they  die. 
And  then  he  wrote  of  human  life: 

'"Pleasure,  in  the  freshness  of  youth,  I  sought 
thy  deliciousness ; 

'"Finally,  in  the  winter  of  old  age,  I  discover 
thy  vanity ; 

'"The  thirst  for  reputation  and  honour  makes 
men  enemies  to  one  another.  What  was  it  that 
I  thirsted  for?     Reputation  is  but  vanity. 

"'Genius  in  its  pride  roams  through  realms  of 
knowledge. 

'"But  my  knowledge  only  plagues  me;  know- 
ledge is  but  vanity.' 

"But  the  fools  make  grimaces,  when  one  of 
them  recovers  his  reason.  Then  they  say,  'He 
has  gone  mad.'" 

6 


82  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

The  Inevitable. — The  teacher  said:  "The  ques- 
tion, 'What  has  one  a  right  to  feel  remorse  for?' 
is  very  compHcated.  I  once  followed  the  career 
of  a  foreign  writer.  I  read  his  works,  which 
seemed  to  belong  to  another  world,  with  great 
admiration.  His  dramas  all  appeared  to  breathe 
a  melancholy  fear  of  some  unknown  terror  that 
was  bound  to  come.  His  philosophy  was  that  of 
a  saint.  His  landscapes  seemed  to  be  bathed  not 
in  common  air  but  in  pure  aether.  He  was  then 
about  forty  years  old,  and  I  expected  every  day  to 
hear  that  he  had  gone  into  a  convent. 

"But  afterwards  I  heard  he  had  married  an 
actress,  with  whom  he  went  about,  and  who 
appeared  as  a  *  living  statue '  in  one  of  his  pieces. 
He  also  wrote  new  dramas  for  her,  and  now,  when 
they  became  cynical  and  brutal,  he  achieved 
a  greater  popularity  than  he  had  ever  been  able 
to  gain  before.  He  degraded  his  person,  his 
genius,  his  wife;  and  as  he  sank,  I  wept  inwardly. 
One  day  I  read  in  the  paper  that  she  had  deserted 
him,  but  that  may  have  been  false.  The  thought 
of  his  fate  tormented  me;  it  seemed  to  have 
been  predetermined.  All  his  dramas  written 
while  he  was  still  unmarried  treated  of  this 
terrible  thing  which  he  foresaw  and  feared.  It 
seemed  to  me  as  though  he  were  compelled  to 


TKe  Poet's  Sacrifice  83 

take  a  mud-bath,  and  obliged  to  let  himself  be 
besmirched  by  life  precisely  in  this  way.  It 
seemed  as  though  he  had  not  the  right  to  ante- 
date heaven;  as  though  he  were  not  allowed  to 
lead  a  pure,  saintly  life.  It  is  terrible,  because 
it  is  inexplicable." 

The  Poet's  Sacrifice. — The  teacher  continued: 
"This  man's  destiny  reminds  me  of  the  Indian 
drama,  Urvasi.  A  penitent  who  withdraws  to 
solitude  in  order  to  purify  his  soul  by  renunciation, 
may  finally  attain  such  lofty  spiritual  heights 
that  his  power  may  become  dangerous  to  the 
lower  deities.  In  order  to  hinder  such  a  penitent 
in  his  spiritual  development,  the  god  Indra  sent 
an  Apsara,  a  sort  of  celestial  courtesan,  in  order 
to  distract  and  seduce  him. 

"Does  not  that  resemble  the  case  which  I 
mentioned  just  now?  How  can  the  one  who 
has  been  seduced  feel  guilty  in  such  a  case,  or 
have  the  right  to  repent  a  wrong  he  did  not 
do?  Now  a  poet  is  something  different  to  a 
recluse,  and  in  order  to  be  able  to  describe  life 
in  all  its  aspects  and  dangers  he  must  first  have 
lived  it.  What  sort  of  a  poet  would  Shakespeare 
have  been  if  he  had  lived  as  a  steady  young 
fellow,  continued  in  his  father's  honourable  pro- 


84  2Sones  of  tKe  Spirit 

fession,  and  in  leisure  hours  written  about  his 
Httle  affairs?  Although  one  does  not  know 
much  about  the  great  Englishman,  one  sees  from 
his  works  what  a  stormy  life  he  must  have  led. 
There  is  hardly  a  misfortune  which  he  has  not 
experienced,  hardly  a  passion  which  he  has  not 
felt.  Hate  and  love,  revenge  and  lust,  murder 
and  fire,  all  seem  to  have  come  within  the  circle 
of  his  experience  as  a  poet.  A  real  poet  must 
sacrifice  his  person  for  his  work.  I  can  conceive 
of  a  symbolical  monument  to  Shakespeare  under 
the  figure  of  Hercules  kindling  his  own  pyre 
on  Mount  Oeta,  sacrificing  his  opulent  life  as 
an  offering  for  mankind.  That  is  a  good  idea, 
is  it  not?" 

The  pupil  answered:  "Truly  you  have  the 
power  of  binding  and  loosing;  now  you  have 
loosed  me." 

The  Function  of  the  Philistines. — The  teacher 
said:  "Israel  had  some  unpleasant  neighbours 
called  Philistines,  who  guarded  the  coast-line 
along  the  sea.  They  worshipped  weird  gods, 
such  as  Dagon  the  Fish-god,  Beelzebub  the  Lord 
of  Dung,  and  Astarte.  But  unpleasant  though 
they  were,  they  seemed  to  have  had  a  part  to 
play  in  the  life  of  Israel.     As  soon  as  the  chosen 


THe  Function  of  tKe  Philistines     85 

people  abandoned  the  temple,  the  Philistines  came 
and  closed  the  sanctuary,  set  the  Lord  of  Dung 
upon  the  altar,  and  burned  incense  before  the 
Fish-god.  As  often  as  the  children  of  Israel 
quarrelled  among  themselves,  the  Philistines 
advanced  irresistibly.  The  hand  of  the  Lord 
was  with  them,  so  that  they  punished  and  chas- 
tised their  enemies.  Once  they  took  possession 
of  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant. 

"We  have  our  Philistines  on  the  Bosphorus; 
they  are  called  Turks.  When  the  Christians 
were  unfaithful  to  their  Lord,  the  Turk  took 
possession  of  Christ's  grave,  and  St.  Sophia 
became  a  mosque.  Whenever  the  Christians 
fought  with  each  other,  the  Turk  appeared. 
After  the  Thirty  Years'  War,  when  the  Christians 
had  torn  each  other  like  bloodhounds,  the  Turk 
came  as  far  as  Vienna,  and  the  Crescent  sur- 
mounted  the   Cross   in   Hungary." 

The  pupil  asked:  "Why  do  not  the  great 
powers  recapture  the  Holy  Sepulchre  and  the 
Church  of  St.  Sophia?  They  could  do  it  in  a 
moment!" 

"I  do  not  know.  Perhaps  they  cannot.  We 
need  our  Philistine,  the  bogie-man  with  whom 
one  frightens  children.  In  France  the  churches 
were  shut   by  the   pagans  when   people   ceased 


86  X'Ones  of  tKe  Spirit 

to  attend  Mass.  Now  they  set  up  the  Lord  of 
Dung  on  the  altar.  Marat,  in  his  time,  was 
buried  in  the  Pantheon;  but  when  Christ  re- 
entered, Marat  was  thrown  into  the  sewer.  The 
last  to  obtain  apotheosis  in  the  Pantheon  was  an 
engineer,  who  had  a  single  merit — that  of  being 
murdered  by  a  friend  of  freedom.  When  we 
become  Christians  again,  we  shall  receive  back 
both  the  Holy  Sepulchre  and  Santa  Sophia.  We 
do  not  need  to  take  them.  Such  is  the  great 
function  of  the  Philistines  in  the  spiritual  economy 
of  nature." 

Wo  rid -Religion. — The  teacher  continued: 
"Goethe  wrote  in  his  youth  a  treatise  maintaining 
that  the  religion  imposed  by  the  State  was  the 
most  favourable  for  the  maintenance  of  the 
State." 

The  pupil  objected:  "But  how  will  it  fare 
with  the  individual  conscience?" 

"As  it  has  done  hitherto.  The  State  deter- 
mines the  views  of  the  individual  in  geometry, 
botany,  history,  and  religion,  by  instruction  in 
the  schools,  by  religious  services  in  the  colleges, 
and  prayers  in  camps  and  barracks." 

"But  what  about  freedom  of  belief  and 
thought?" 


World-Religion  87 

"We  have  already  agreed  that  there  is  no 
freedom,  but  that  all  is  dependence  and  compul- 
sion enforced  by  mutual  pressure.  Therefore 
misuse  not  the  sacred  name  of  freedom.  During 
the  course  of  my  long  life,  I  have  often  thought 
I  could  interpret  the  intention  of  Providence 
thus:  If  all  religious  forms  fell  off  like  husks, 
and  only  the  kernels  remained,  they  might  grow- 
together  like  botanical  cells,  and  form  a  single 
plant — a  world-tree,  under  whose  shadow  all 
nations  might  rest  in  devotion  and  in  unity." 

The  teacher  continued:  "I  had  also  believed 
that  I  had  noticed  there  is  a  special  purpose  in 
the  intermingling  of  races  which  is  now  pro- 
ceeding. This  has  already  gone  so  far,  that  in 
my  insignificant  family,  which  is  registered  as 
Scandinavian,  we  find  traces  of  all  the  five  quarters 
of  the  world." 

"But  do  you  really  believe  it?" 

"I  do  not  know," 

"And  do  you  think  that  all  nations  will  be 
united   in   a   common   Christianity?" 

"  I  do  not  know !  But  the  promise  to  Abraham, 
'In  thy  seed  shall  all  nations  be  blessed,'  has 
already  been  fulfilled  by  Abraham's  descend- 
ant, Jesus  Christ.  As  a  matter  of  fact.  Christian 
E^urope  and  the  western  hemisphere  of  North 


88  Zones  of  the  Spirit 

and  South  America  rule  the  world.  And  before 
the  actual  reality,  our  wishes,  ideas,  theories,  and 
anticipations  collapse." 

The  Return  of  Christ. — The  pupil  asked: 
"  Are  we  to  expect  the  promised  return  of  Christ? " 

"Christ  Himself  answered  this  importunate 
question  of  his  disciples  by  saying,  'The  King- 
dom of  God  is  among  you.'  And  when  He  left 
them  He  said,  'Behold,  I  am  with  you  always 
till  the  end  of  the  world.'" 

"Good.  But  how  is  Christ's  Kingdom  to  be 
set  up  on  earth?" 

"  Not  by  crusades,  as  you  perhaps  believe.  You 
know  that  there  are  plants  which  cannot  simul- 
taneously thrive  in  the  same  ground;  one  kind 
must  die  out.  So  there  are  races  which  cannot 
dwell  together  in  the  same  land.  As  soon  as 
Christians  become  Christians  again,  the  pagans  do 
not  thrive,  and  depart.  Just  like  the  giants  who 
got  earache  when  they  heard  the  sound  of  church- 
bells,  sniffed  and  snorted  when  they  smelt  Chris- 
tian blood,  and  finally  slunk  back  into  their  caves. 
One  ought  to  be  tolerant,  but  not  to  carry  it  so 
far  as  to  take  down  the  church-bells  or  lay  the 
cross  low,  because  they  make  the  giants  ill.  Swed- 
enborg  says  that   the  gift  of  free-will  is  never 


CoxTespondencee  89 

revoked,  and  that  therefore  the  damned  them- 
selves choose  their  own  hell.  If  they  come  into  a 
purer  air,  they  are  tested;  if  they  happen  to  get 
into  good  company,  they  do  not  thrive,  and  cast 
themselves  headlong  into  the  region  of  the  Lord 
of  Dung.  There  they  find  an  environment  in 
which  they  can  breathe.  If  therefore  you  wish 
to  fly  evil  companionship,  you  need  not  shut  your 
door.  Only  acquire  an  upright  character,  and 
your  fellows  will  shim  you  like  the  pest." 

Correspondences. — The  teacher  said:  "We 
have  discussed  Swedenborg's  hells  and  found 
that  they  are  partly  states  of  mind,  and  partly 
resemble  earthly  life  under  certain  conditions. 
I  remember  now  certain  striking  details  in  them, 
which  bring  to  my  mind  certain  experiences  of 
everyday  life.  The  fire  of  hell  consists,  he  says, 
partly  in  this,  that  passions  are  aroused,  only  to 
be  mocked  and  pimished;  partly  in  the  kindling 
of  desires,  which  really  must  be  gratified,  but 
die  away  immediately  afterwards  since  suffering 
consists  in  missing  something.  Do  you  know 
that?"  "Yes,  I  know  it."  "Further,  when 
heavenly  light  reaches  the  damned,  an  icy  chill 
pervades  their  veins,  and  their  blood  ceases  to 
flow.     Do  you  know  that?"     "Yes,  I  know  it! 


90  Zones  of  the  Spirit 

And  I  remember  once  when  I  was  very  wicked  a 
good  man  began  to  talk  kindly  to  me.  I  was  not 
warmed  thereby,  but  began  to  feel  so  cold  in  the 
room  where  I  was,  that  I  put  on  my  overcoat." 
"Further,  they  wander  about  lonely  and  gloomy: 
they  hunger,  and  have  nothing  to  eat;  they  go 
to  houses,  and  ask  for  work,  but  when  they  get 
it,  they  go  their  way,  to  be  tormented  again  by 
ennui.  But  when  they  return,  the  doors  are 
shut;  they  must  work  for  food  and  clothing, 
and  have  a  harlot  for  a  companion.  Is  that  so?" 
"It  is!"  "The  ruling  principles  of  hell  are: 
the  desire  to  rule  from  self-love;  the  desire  for 
other  people's  goods  from  love  of  the  world; 
the  desire  for  dissipation.  The  ruling  principles 
of  heaven  are:  the  desire  to  rule  with  a  good 
object;  the  desire  for  money  and  property,  in 
order  to  use  them  for  the  benefit  of  others;  the 
desire  for  marriage." 

Good  Words.— The  pupil  asked:  "Dees 
Swedenborg  never  speak  a  good  word  to  comfort 
and  cheer  one?" 

The  teacher  answered:  "Yes,  certainly  he 
does.  He  says,  for  example,  'The  chosen  are 
those  who  have  conscience;  the  reprobate  are 
those    who    have    no    conscience.'     That    agrees 


Good  Word©  91 

with  Socrates'  definition  of  a  man  as  a  being 
possessing  both  modesty  and  conscience.  In 
another  place  Swedenborg  thus  explains  tempta- 
tions: 'Evil  spirits  arouse  in  the  memory  of 
a  man  all  the  evil  and  falsity  which  he  has 
thought  and  practised  since  childhood;  but  the 
angels  who  accompany  him  produce  his  good- 
ness and  truth,  and  in  this  manner  defend 
him.  It  is  this  conflict  which  causes  pangs  of 
conscience. 

"'When  a  man  is  tried  with  respect  to  his 
understanding,  evil  spirits  summon  up  only  the 
evil  deeds  which  he  has  committed.  These  are 
symbolised  by  unclean  animals.  The  evil  spirits 
accuse  and  condemn  by  distorting  the  truth  in  a 
thousand  ways.' 

"Swedenborg  also  mentions  a  kind  of  spirits 
who  raise  scruples  about  trifles,  and  thus  trouble 
the  consciences  of  the  unwary.  Their  presence 
arouses  a  feeling  of  discomfort  at  the  pit  of  the 
stomach,  and  they  take  delight  in  burdening 
the  conscience.  Finally  there  are  some  pagans 
from  the  countries  inhabited  by  black  men,  who 
bring  with  them  from  their  earthly  life  the  wish 
to  be  treated  hardly,  under  the  idea  that  no  one 
can  enter  heaven  without  having  suffered  punish- 
ments and  torments.   Because  they  have  this  belief, 


92  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

they  are  at  first  treated  hardly  by  some  whom 
they  call  devils. 

"In  another  place  Swedenborg  says:  'There 
are  no  devils  except  bad  men.'  One  word  more. 
The  Master  met  some  in  a  state  of  despair,  who 
believed  that  pain  would  be  everlasting.  'But 
it  was  given  me  to  comfort  them.'  These  are 
good  words  for  you." 

Severe  and  not  Severe. — The  pupil  objected: 
"But   Swedenborg   is  in  general   too   severe." 

The  teacher  answered:  "No!  it  is  not  he,  but 
life  which  is  severe,  and  life's  laws  are  severe  for 
the  unrighteous.  The  Master  says :  '  Women 
who  attain  to  power  and  wealth  from  the  lower 
ranks  often  become  furies;  but  wom-en  who  are 
bom  to  power  and  wealth,  and  do  not  uplift  them_- 
selves,  are  happy.'  '  To  renounce  the  pleasures  of 
life,'  he  says,  'and  wealth  and  power,  with  the 
idea  of  earning  heaven  by  asceticism,  is  a  false 
view.' 

"We  know  that  Swedenborg  was  temperate  in 
everyday  life,  but  went  willingly  into  society, 
and  then  he  allowed  himself  a  poculiim  hilaritatus, 
a  cup  of  cheer.  He  declares  himself  decisively 
against  those  who  retreat  from  the  world :  '  Many 
think  it  is  hard  to  lead  a  life  which  conducts  to 


Severe  and  not  Severe  93 

heaven,  because  they  have  heard  that,  for  this 
object,  one  must  renounce  the  world  and  hve 
to  the  spirit.  By  this  they  understand  that  one 
must  cut  oneself  off  from  all  that  is  earthly,  and 
devotes  one's  whole  life  to  spiritual  contemplation 
and  devotion.  But  that  it  is  not  really  so,  I 
have  learned  through  long  experience.  He  who 
thus  separates  from  the  world  in  order  to  live 
to  the  spirit,  enters  a  gloomy  life,  which  is  irre- 
ceptive  of  the  joy  of  heaven.  In  order  to  prepare 
for  heaven  one  must  Hve  in  the  world  in  activity 
and  employment.  ...  I  have  spoken  with  some 
who  had  withdrawn  from  their  occupations  in 
order  to  live  a  spiritual  life,  and  also  with  some 
who  had  tormented  themseh-^s  in  various  ways, 
because  they  believed  they  ought  to  suppress 
the  desires  of  the  flesh.  ...  As  a  rule  they  are 
puffed  up  \^*ith  pride,  and  regard  heavenly  joy 
as  a  reward  without  knowing  what  heaven  and 
heavenly  joy  is. " ' 

The  pupil  interrupted:  "This  seems  to  be 
the  case  w^th  the  pietists." 

"Not  with  all.  There  are  among  them  peni- 
tents, or  those  who  really  prepare  for  death. 
Leave  the  pietists  in  peace,  and  don't  tr\'  to 
sever  the  wheat  from  the  chaff.  .  .  .  ReHgion 
should  not  merely  be  a  Sundaj^  suit,  but  a  gentle 


94  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

accompaniment  to  mitigate  the  ponderous  tones 
of  everyday  life.  But  one  must  not  be  cowardly 
or  indifferent,  as  so  many  modem  Christians  are. 
When  they  hear  the  big  words  'Development,' 
*  Modem  Thought,'  '  Science,'  they  think  at 
once  that  Christianity  is  a  thing  of  the  past. 
If  they  read  in  the  papers  that  the  Lice-King 
has  overcome  the  Christians,  they  believe  at 
once  that  God  has  forsaken  His  own.  They 
forget  that  the  Egyptian  bondage  was  an  edu- 
cation for  Canaan,  and  that  the  Philistines  were 
employed  as  goads  to  spur  on  the  lazy. 

"UnbeHef,  superstition,  deliberate  falsehood, 
error — all  serve  the  Tmth,  for  all  things  serve. 
And  to  him  who  loves  God,  all  things  turn  out 
for  good." 

Yeast  and  Bread. — "The  neo-pagans  who  have 
now  rushed  forward  on  the  stage,  and  believe 
they  are  the  lords  of  the  world  because  they  serve 
the  Prince  of  the  World,  seem  to  be  a  sediment 
of  savage  races  which  by  marriage  and  immigra- 
tion have  penetrated  the  old  nations  of  Europe 
like  yeast.  Yeast  fulfils  its  function  in  the 
warmth  of  the  oven,  but  is  itself  changed  into 
gases  and  disappears,  leaving  bubbles  and  holes 
behind.     The  dough  remains,  changed  into  mel- 


THe  Man  of  Development  95 

low,  crisp,  white,  fragrant,  warm  bread.  Yeast 
is  a  kind  of  mould  produced  by  corruption,  yet 
it  must  be  present  in  order  to  make  white  bread. 
"Everything  serves!  But  mould  by  itself  can 
make  no  bread.  One  ought  therefore  not  to  be 
angry  with  the  pagans,  for  they  know  no  better. 
To  enlighten  them  is  difficult;  one  can  locate  a 
grey  star,  but  not  a  black  one.  One  ought  not 
to  fear  them,  for  then  they  bite.  But  they  must 
have  their  day.  'I  have  seen  the  wicked  in  great 
power,  and  spreading  himself  like  a  green  tree  in 
its  native  soil;  but  I  passed  by,  and,  lo,  he  was 
not;  yea,  I  sought  him,  but  he  coidd  not  be 
found.' " 

The  Man  of  Development. — The  pupil  asked: 
"Can   the  pagans  really  not  be   enlightened?" 

"Experience  has  shown  that  it  is  almost  im- 
possible. For  a  blockhead  cannot  imderstand 
the  simplest  things;  he  cannot  see  the  self-evident 
nature  of  an  axiom.  If  he  is  systematically 
followed  by  misfortune,  he  calls  it  'bad-luck'; 
if  he  is  prostrated  with  illness,  he  rises  as  stupid 
as  he  was  before;  if  he  gets  into  prison,  he  sits 
there  and  meditates  new  tricks;  if  he  lies  on  the 
rack,  he  thinks  he  is  suffering  for  his  faith,  al- 
though he  has  not  got  any;  from  warnings  and 


96  2^ones  of  tHe  Spirit 

trials  he  emerges  as  great  a  calf  as  he  was  before, 
for  he  has  no  intelligence.  All  the  denizens  of 
the  dunghill  praise  his  firmness  of  character,  his 
strength  of  soul,  his  strong  belief  in  his  cause. 
He  is  sixty  years  old,  and  he  has  worked  for 
'  development,'  but  he  has  not  been  able  to 
develop  himself.  He  hawks  about  the  same 
rubbish  as  he  did  forty  years  ago,  when  he  dis- 
covered what  he  called  '  the  truth'  in  the  books 
of  his  teachers;  he  has  never  produced  an  original 
thought,  nor  obtained  a  new  view  of  an  old 
subject.  He  has  stood  still,  but  the  world  has 
gone  forward;  he  believed  he  was  leading  the 
van,  when  he  was  bringing  up  the  rear.  Christ- 
ianity beckoned,  but  crab-like  he  went  backward 
to  paganism.  Such  is  the  man  of  'development.' 
Do  you  know  him?" 

"  I  have  known  him,  but  renounced  his  acquaint- 
ance." 

Sins  of  Thought. — The  teacher  said:  "Accord- 
ing to  Luther,  man  is  a  child  till  his  fortieth  year. 
I  was  a  child  till  my  fiftieth,  i.  e.  unintelligent, 
conceited.  I  believed  that  I  was  inaccessible 
and  irresponsible  as  regards  my  thoughts.  But  I 
was  obliged  to  change  my  opinion  when  I  began 
to  observe  myself.     I  discovered,   that  is,    that 


Sins  of  THovi^ht  97 

when  I  had  sinned,  hated,  killed,  stolen,  though 
only  in  thought,  and  then  came  into  the  company 
of  friends,  they  treated  me  ruthlessly,  as  though 
I  were  a  murderer  or  a  thief.  I  could  not  explain, 
but  finally  believed  that  my  evil  thoughts  were 
legible  in  my  face.  And  wherr  I  observed  that 
my  friends  began  to  touch  on  precisely  the  same 
unpleasant  subject  which  had  occupied  my  secret 
thoughts,  I  saw  that  so-called  thought-reading 
is  daily  and  hourly  practised  in  social  life, 

"When  subsequently  I  read  Maeterlinck's  fine 
book.  The  Treasure  of  the  Humble,  my  belief  in 
this  was  strengthened,  for  he  made  the  same 
observation.  When  I  finally  took  in  hand  my 
own  spiritual  education,  I  found  that  this  was  the 
principal  point,  and  by  watching  my  thoughts  I 
prevented  them  breaking  out  into  action.  Now 
for  the  first  time  I  understood  why  I  had  so  often 
in  my  life  thought  myself  unjustly  accused  and 
punished  for  offences  which  I  had  not  committed. 
I  confess  now  that  I  had  committed  them  in 
thought.  But  how  did  men  know  that?  As- 
suredly there  is  a  hidden  justice  which  punishes 
sins  of  thought,  and  when  men  make  each  other 
accountable  for  suspicions,  ugly  looks  or  feelings, 
they  are  right.  That  is  a  hard  saying,  but  it  is 
so." 


98  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

Sins  of  Will. — The  teacher  continued:  "There 
are  also  sins  of  wish  and  volition.  You  know 
that  one  can  hate  and  worry  a  man  dead.  I  was 
once  in  a  watering-place  in  whi?h  the  hotel  pro- 
prietor had  introduced  a  sort  of  monopoly.  He 
had  arrogated  to  himself  the  privilege  of  alone 
providing  food  for  the  boarders.  He  starved  them 
by  cooking  the  goodness  out  of  the  meat  before 
he  roasted  it,  by  making  soup  of  rye-meal,  and  so 
on.  The  boarders  were  patient,  and  no  one 
wished  to  make  a  disturbance.  But  their  hatred 
of  the  man  increased.  After  a  month  I  observed 
that  the  hotel  proprietor  began  to  look  yellow  in 
the  face  and  to  pine  away.  As  he  sat  at  his  bar 
he  became  the  object  of  glances  full  of  hatred. 
At  last,  one  day,  the  whole  company,  a  hundred 
in  number,  rose  during  the  midday  meal  and 
departed.  Then  the  proprietor  became  ill  of  a 
liver  disease.  It  seemed  as  though  the  collected 
gall  of  all  the  guests  had  somehow  transferred 
itself  to  his  liver,  and  curdled  there.  He  vanished ; 
they  had  killed  him.  But  their  hatred  was  this 
time  justified,  or  quite  natural. 

"When,  however,  we  hate  a  man  because  he 
will  not  admire  us  or  further  our  selfish  interests, 
we  may  become  simply  murderers.  That,  how- 
ever,   depends   on   the   behaviour  of   the   other. 


THe  Study  of  ManKind  99 

If  he  is  innocent  in  the  matter,  he  will  be  im- 
mune and  irreceptive  of  the  poison.  I  know  a 
person  who  hated  me  because  she  could  not  rob 
me.  She  was  a  servant  to  whom  I  had  shown 
nothing  but  kindness.  Her  hate  did  not  affect 
me  so  long  as  I  was  upright." 

The  Study  of  Mankind. — The  teacher  said: 
"  One  ought  not  to  attempt  to  study  men.  Partly 
because  they  do  not  lay  themselves  open  to  be 
studied,  partly  because  they  are  aware  when  they 
became  objects  of  deliberate  investigation.  He 
who  does  not  give  himself,  receives  nothing. 
He  who  does  not  approach  men  in  a  spirit  of 
sympathy,  finds  no  point  of  contact  with  them. 
When  I  regard  them  as  companions  in  misfortune, 
fellow-wanderers  in  the  wilderness,  they  open 
themselves  to  me.  If  I  expose  myself,  I  show  a 
confidence  in  them,  which  meets  with  a  response. 
If  I  approach  them  with  suspicion,  they  show 
suspicion.  If  anyone  visits  me,  in  order  to  exa- 
mine me,  I  let  him  sit  for  his  portrait  to  me. 

"When  I  have  had  frank  intercourse  for  a 
considerable  time  with  a  man,  and  then  sum  up 
his  characteristics  in  my  recollection,  I  get  a  fair 
idea  of  him,  but  never  quite  a  correct  one.  Men 
have  a  right  to  hide  their  secrets.     When  I  was 


100  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

young  and  unintelligent,  I  believed  that,  as  an 
author,  I  had  a  right  to  investigate  the  past  of 
others;  but  I  soon  discovered  that  it  is  not  al- 
lowed.    They  seemed  to  be  guarded. 

"He  who  says  one  ought  to  be  so  on  guard 
in  one's  intercourse  with  a  friend,  as  though  he 
might  some  day  become  an  enemy,  has  had  little 
pleasure  in  friendship.  I  have  always  behaved  to 
men  as  though  they  were  going  to  be  my  friends 
for  life,  and  therefore  I  have  received  something 
in  return.  When  they  have  disappointed  me,  I 
have  said  to  myself.  '  What  matters  it?  Nothing 
for  nothing!'" 

Friend  Zero. — The  teacher  continued:  "There 
are  people  who  seem  friendly,  harmless,  consider- 
ate; they  leave  others  in  peace,  never  pry  into 
their  affairs,  never  say  evil  behind  people's  backs, 
nor  allow  evil  to  be  said.  I  have  admired  and 
envied  them  for  their  good  natural  qualities. 
But  among  such  persons  I  have  found  some  who 
keep  remote  from  unpleasantnesses  out  of  pure 
selfishness,  and  who  out  of  love  for  ease  and 
comfort  wish  to  know  nothing  of  other  people's 
affairs  in  order  not  to  be  drawn  into  them.  These 
are  those  who  will  not  give  evidence  in  court, 
even  for  the  sake  of  defending  a  friend.     They 


Friend  Zero  lOI 

are  silent  when  they  ought  to  speak.  They 
avoid  recommending  a  relative  on  the  plea  that 
'they  do  not  know  him.'  When  their  names 
are  mentioned  as  authorities  for  such  and  such 
a  report,  they  have  'lost  their  memories.'  They 
will  not  lend  money  to  anyone  who  needs  it, 
because  '  they  do  not  wish  to  have  a  disagreement 
with  him.'  They  have  no  positive  virtues,  and 
no  positive  faults.  Consequently  they  are  colour- 
less, unreliable,  characterless,  formless;  they  can 
not   be   classified   under  any   system. 

"I  once  knew  one  of  these  for  ten  years;  then 
I  forgot  him.  Twenty  years  later  I  foimd  some 
of  my  old  letters  in  an  atic;  among  them  were 
hundreds  of  letters  from  my  formless  friend.  I 
was  astonished  to  find  that  I  had  had  such  a 
lengthy  correspondence  with  him.  And  I  looked 
to  see  what  he  had  had  to  say.  I  read  five-and- 
tvventy  letters.  They  contained  nothing.  I  read 
fifty;  the  result  was  the  same — nothing.  They 
consisted  solely  of  handwriting,  ink,  paper, 
envelopes,  and  postage-stamps.  I  burnt  them 
and  forgot  Friend  Zero  henceforth.  He  did  not 
even  leave  a  memory  behind  him." 

Affable  Men.— The  teacher  said:  "When  I 
have  seen  a  character-drama,  I  have  always  asked 


102  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

myself,  'Are  men  really  so  simple  and  transparent?' 
There  is  a  kind  of  men  about  whom  one  can  never 
be  certain.  They  are  so  disposed  by  nature  that 
they  adapt  themselves  to -their  companions  out  of 
pure  affability.  Such  a  man  once  came  into  my 
circle;  I  found  him  sympathetic,  lovable,  good- 
natured.  On  one  occasion  I  imparted  to  a  third 
person  my  opinion  of  my  affable  friend.  He 
answered,  'You  don't  know  him!  He  is  a  mali- 
cious man ;  he  has  only  put  on  an  air  of  affability 
with  you.' 

"Then  there  came  a  fourth:  'He!  He  is  the 
falsest  man  in  existence ! '  Finally  his  wife  came : 
'No!  he  is  neither  malicious  nor  false;  he  only 
wants  to  be  on  good  terms  with  people.' 

"At  the  beginning  of  our  acquaintance  (he  con- 
fessed it  himself  later  on),  he  had  determined  to 
win  me  by  affability,  and  to  preserve  my  affection 
by  doing  everything,  or  nearly  everything,  that  I 
wished.  He  also  abstained  from  contradicting 
me.  During  a  whole  year  I  never  heard  him 
express  a  view  of  his  own;  he  only  repeated  my 
thoughts.  I  believed  he  had  no  will,  no  views, 
not  even  feelings.  He  seemed  to  me  to  be  a 
mirror  in  which  I  was  reflected;  I  never  found 
him,  only  myself.  Then  I  became  tired  of  him, 
did  not  know  how  to  hold  myself  in,  and  asked 


Cringing  before  tKe  Beast  103 

him  to  do  something  wrong.  Then  at  last  I  dis- 
covered the  man  himself.  With  an  unparalleled 
strength  of  character,  he  left  wife,  child,  and 
home!  In  order  'to  save  his  soul,'  as  he  said. 
'Have  you  then  got  a  soul?'  I  asked.  'Judge 
for  yourself,'  he  answered,  and  departed. 

"  It  is  dangerous  to  be  affable,  and  it  is  dangerous 
to  consider  men  simple." 

Cringing  before  the  Beast. — The  teacher  said: 
"When  a  man  once  yields  to  desire,  the  ceasing 
of  a  certain  restraint  carries  with  it  a  feeling  of 
freedom  and  deliverance.  This  pleasurable  feel- 
ing we  almost  regard  as  a  reward,  and  conclude 
that  we  have  acted  rightly  when  we  have  thrown 
a  bone  to  the  barking  dog.  But  had  we  forborne 
to  do  so,  the  dog  would  not  have  formed  the  habit 
of  barking,  and  we  might  have  gone  our  way  in 
the  proud  consciousness  of  not  having  cringed 
before  the  beast,  by  bribing  it  to  silence.  The 
feeling  of  pleasure  would  have  been  changed  into 
a  consciousness  of  victory  and  power,  which  is 
far  superior  to  sensuality. 

"Never  cringe  before  the  beast;  then  it  will 
not  get  the  better  of  you.  The  suppression  of 
an  unlawful  desire  is  like  winding  up  a  watch; 
the   mainspring   contracts   till   it    creaks,    but   it 


104  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

does  not  do  its  work  properly  till  then.  Preserve 
your  strength  for  yourself;  then  you  will  con- 
quer your  foes  in  the  battles  of  life.  Waste  not 
your  virile  energy,  or  the  woman  will  get  the 
better  of  you. 

"You  know  very  well  what  I  mean  by  'desire': 
I  do  not  mean  moderate  eating  and  drinking; 
and  you  know  very  well  what  'waste'  means. 
You  must  also  not  believe  that  desire  decreases 
with  age.  It  is  not  so;  but  the  intelligence  and 
will-power  increase,  and  therefore  the  victory  is 
proportionably  easier.  I  make  you  a  present  of 
this  explanation:  keep  it,  and  show  that  you  are 
intelligent  enough  to  be  able  to  receive  a  real  one." 

Ecclesia  Triumphans. — The  teacher  said:  "The 
world  is  full  of  lies,  but  there  are  also  errors  and 
misunderstandings.  No  two  men  give  words 
the  same  meaning.  But  there  are  persistent  lies 
which  circulate  like  coins.  There  are  lies  of  the 
lower  classes,  and  lies  of  the  upper  classes;  lies 
of  the  Catholics  and  of  the  Protestants.  But 
those  of  the  pagans  are  the  worst  of  all.  They 
believe  they  have  the  right  to  lie,  because  it 
profits  them  or  their  friends.  One  of  the  greatest 
lies  of  the  pagans  which  misled  me  for  a  long  time 
is  the  false  assertion  that  Japan  has  accepted  the 


Ecclesia  TrmmpHan©  I05 

material  culture  of  Europe,  but  rejected  Chris- 
tianity. Two  Japanese  professors,  who  lately- 
visited  our  land,  declared  on  the  contrary  that 
there  was  a  Christian  church  in  each  of  the  larger 
towns  of  Japan.  There  are  Christians  in  the 
army,  parliament,  and  universities.  Their  num- 
ber is  great — five-and-forty  thousand  Protestants, 
eight-and-fifty  thousand  Catholics,  and  five-and- 
twenty  thousand  adherents  of  the  Greek  Church. 
In  the  Second  Chamber  of  the  Japanese  parliament 
two  of  the  presidents  have  become  Christians. 
And  all  that  has  taken  place  in  thirty-five  years. 
A  thousand  years  pass  by  like  nothing,  and  the 
future  seems  to  belong  to  Christianity,  since  we 
have  already  seen  that  the  chief  powers  of  the 
world,  Europe  and  America,  are  Christian. 

"There  is  certainly  no  obligation  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian, but  some  day  it  may  be  a  disgrace  not  to 
be  one,  when  one  is  bom  in  a  Christian  coimtry. 
It  may  come  to  be  thought  retrograde  and  con- 
servative, and  a  failure  to  keep  pace  with  de- 
velopment. The  pagans  celebrated  the  end  of 
the  eighteenth  century  as  marking  the  overthrow 
of  Christianity,  but  in  1802  appeared  the  finest 
book  which  has  been  written  on  Christianity, 
Le  Genie  die  Christianisme,  by  Chateaubriand, 
and  by  its  means  the  Church  triumphed  again." 


io6  Zones  of  the  Spirit 

Logic  in  Neurasthenia. — As  the  Teacher  wan- 
dered in  Qualheim,  he  came  into  a  mountainous 
region,  and  saw  a  castle  which  was  of  dream- 
Hke  beauty.  "Who  is  the  enviable  man  who 
lives  in  such  a  palace?"  he  asked.  His  guide 
answered:  "He  is  an  unhappy,  helpless  hermit, 
without  peace,  and  without  a  home.  He  was 
born  with  great  artistic  gifts,  but  employed  them 
on  rubbish.  He  drew  nonsensical  and  trifling 
caricatures,  distorted  all  that  was  beautiful  into 
ugliness,  and  all  that  was  great  into  pettiness." 

"How   does   he  occupy   himself  now?" 

"Shall  I  say  it?  He  sits  from  morning  till 
evening,  making  balls  out  of  dtmg." 

"You  mean  to  say,  he  continues  as  he  began. 
Is  that  his  punishment?" 

* '  Yes !  Is  n't  it  logical  ?  He  obtained  the  castle, 
but  cannot  use  it."  Then  they  went  further 
and  came  into  a  garden,  where  they  found  a 
man  grafting  peaches  on  turnips.  "What  has 
he  done?"  asked  the  teacher.  "In  life  he  was 
especially  fond  of  turnips,  and  now  he  wishes 
to  inoculate  peaches,  which  he  finds  insipid,  with 
the  fine  flavour  of  turnips.  He  was,  moreover, 
an  author,  and  wished  to  rejuvenate  poetry  with 
bawdy  peasant  songs."  "Why,  that  is  sym- 
bolism!"    "Yes,  and  logical  most  of  all." 


My  Caricature  107 

Then  they  came  to  a  cottage,  where  they  found 
a  man  lying  on  a  bed,  surrounded  by  piles  of 
books.  The  man  had  read  himself  ill;  he  lay 
there  exhausted  by  hunger  and  thirst,  and  could 
hardly  breathe. 

"What  is  he  reading?"  asked  the  teacher. 

"Only  theology,  exegetics,  dogmatics,  isogogy, 
eschatology.  During  lifetime  he  denied  the  ex- 
istence of  God.  Now  he  seeks  Him  in  theology, 
but  has  not  yet  found  Him." 

"Will  he  find  Him?" 

"Yes,  certainly  he  will.  But  he  must  first 
seek!" 

"Why,  it  is  just  like  that  in  our  lunatic  asylums." 

"And  there  is  logic  in  neurasthenia,  here  as 
there." 

My  Caricature.  —  The  teacher  said:  "Men 
often  appear  in  our  lives  as  though  they  were 
sent ;  we  do  not  know  why  they  interfere  with  our 
destiny;  they  themselves  perhaps  do  not  know. 
When  I  was  a  young  man  who  gave  promise  of 
a  future,  which  I  had  not  fulfilled,  I  received  as  a 
colleague  in  my  work  a  man  whom  I  at  once  felt 
to  be  antipathetic  to  me,  and  who  hated  me. 
But  he  sought  me,  drew  me  out,  and  compelled 
me  to  drink,  although  I  was  not  exactly  difficult 


io8  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

to  persuade.  He  drank  himself  terribly,  and 
often  I  thought  he  wished  to  make  me  drink  my- 
self to  death.  When  half -intoxicated,  he  always 
made  personal  remarks  on  me,  both  flattering  and 
critical.  He  also  appeared  as  a  charlatan,  profess- 
ing to  know  and  prophesy  my  destiny.  This 
sometimes  attracted  me,  and  sometimes  repelled 
me. 

"Finally,  on  one  occasion  when  intoxicated,  he 
attacked  me  before  others,  and  called  me  'a 
humbug  who  would  come  to  nothing.'  I  was 
at  that  time  fully  conscious  of  my  vocation  as 
author;  excited  by  the  attack,  and  being  partially 
in  liquor,  I  made  a  presumptuous  assertion  that 
I  would  be  'great.'  Then  the  man  fell  in  a  rage 
and  swore  by  h — 1  that  I  should  not  be  great. 
After  this  our  ways  divided.  My  friends  noticed 
it,  and  asked,  'Do  you  not  go  about  any  more 
with  your  caricature?'  'What  do  you  mean  by 
that?'  I  asked.  'His  face  was  really  a  caricature 
of   yours.'     And    so   it   was. 

"Two  years  afterwards  I  emerged  from  the 
ruck,  and  remember  that  my  thoughts  turned 
back  to  the  mysterious  person  who  had  interested 
himself  in  my  destiny.  Somewhat  later  I  heard 
that  the  man  had  died  at  twenty-seven  years  of 
age  under  peculiar  circumstances.     He  was  stand- 


TJne  Inexplicable  109 

ing  on  a  mountain  in  the  evening  of  Midsummer 
Day  when  he  had  a  stroke.  'He  flew  asunder 
Hke  a  gobHn  in  the  sunHght,'  I  said  jocosely. 

"This  man  looked  like  a  Hun  or  a  death's- 
head.  He  was  bom  in  the  seventh  month,  and 
preserved  by  being  wrapped  in  wadding  and  laid 
in  a  comer  of  the  tiled  stove.  But  that  explains 
nothing  perhaps? " 

The  Inexplicable.  —  The  teacher  continued: 
"He  had,  however,  a  peculiar  influence  over 
people,  and  that  not  only  because  he  flattered 
them.  I  saw  him  when  he  was  twenty-five  years 
old  talking  with  our  foremost  statesman,  who  was 
then  fift}".  The  widely  experienced,  sceptical 
politician  listened  to  the  ill-dressed  unwashed 
man,  flushed  with  wine,  who  almost  monopolised 
the  talk.  He  claimed  an  authoritative  know- 
ledge of  all  subjects,  teemed  with  facts  and  figures, 
alluded  to  all  prominent  men  as  old  acquaintances, 
was  well  versed  in  family  chronicles  and  political 
intrigues.  'Where  did  he  get  all  that?'  I  asked 
someone.  'I  don't  know,  but  he  is  a  remarkable 
man  with  great  influence,'  was  the  answer.  In 
addition  to  his  other  characteristics  I  can  mention 
this :  with  all  his  coarseness  he  had  traits  of  sensi- 
tiveness.    He  wept  when  he  read  of  the  cruelties 


no  Zones  of  tKo  Spirit 

in  the  Russo-Turkish  war.  He  loved  beautiful 
poetry.  He  had  a  chivalrous  enthusiasm  for 
women.  He  gave  out  his  money  generously,  but 
when  he  was  tipsy  he  was  stingy.  Demons 
plagued  him,  and  he  used  to  roam  in  the  woods 
alone:  but  he  always  smashed  his  top-hat  first. 
One  could  see  into  his  nostrils,  and,  when  he 
laughed,  all  his  back  teeth  could  be  counted. 
He  always  wore  too  long  trousers  on  which  he 
trod,  for  he  was  in  the  habit  of  walking  on  his 
heels.  He  was  beardless  like  Attila,  because  his 
cheeks  simply  consisted  of  nerves. 

"But  what  had  he  to  do  with  my  destiny,  and 
whence  sprang  his  boundless  hatred  for  me?  It 
is  inexplicable,  like  so  much  else." 

Old-time  Religion. — The  pupil  said:  "I  have 
heard,  I  have  thought;  now  I  will  speak.  I 
believe  in  Christianity  as  a  world-historical  fact, 
with  which  a  new  era  has  begun  and  proceeds. 
I  believe  that  all  nations  will  one  day  bow  the 
knee  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ.  Every  time 
that  the  pagans  gain  the  upper  hand,  I  will  regard 
it  as  a  test,  and  not  immediately  believe  that 
God  is  with  them  against  His  own. 

"  But  let  us  have  a  simple,  cheerful  Christianity 
which  gathers  all  to  the  Sunday  festival.     Regard 


Old-time  Religion  III 

it  as  a  misuse  of  God's  name  to  have  religious 
services  every  day.  Simplify  the  dogmas  and 
keep  them  flexible  so  that  all  may  find  a  place 
in  them.  Shorten  the  services;  let  praise,  thanks, 
and  worship  predominate,  and  let  the  sermon, 
which  should  be  only  twenty  minutes  long,  be 
subordinate.  The  preacher  should  stick  to  his 
text,  and  not  make  personal  allusions  like  a 
journalist.  Not  till  that  is  done  will  one  be  able 
to  talk  of  'assemblies,'  of  national  festivals  like 
the  Pan-Athenaean  and  Olympian  games. 

"But  it  is  madness  to  put  pagans  at  the  head 
of  a  Christian  State  as  teachers,  educators,  or 
olhcials.  That  is  not  tolerance,  but  tomfoolery. 
That  is  making  the  goat  the  gardener,  setting 
the  foe  in  the  fortress,  playing  the  coward  before 
public  opinion,  and  mere  weakness. 

"There  will  come  a  day  in  which  the  name 
'Christian'  will  be  a  title  of  honour  and  a  diploma 
of  nobility.  To  say  'I  am  a  Christian'  is  equiva- 
lent to  saying  'I  am  a  Roman  citizen.'  He  who 
dares  to  call  himself  a  pagan  or  an  atheist,  will 
be  regarded  as  a  blockhead,  an  old-fashioned  ass, 
a  conservative  reactionary,  a  stick-in-the-mud." 

The  Seduced  Become  Seducers. — The  pupil 
continued:     "The    reason   why   it   has   been    so 


112  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

hard  for  me  and  many  others  to  become  really 
Christian,  is  that  we  are  all  directly  descended 
from  the  pagans.  We  were  not  acclimatised  in 
the  Christian  atmosphere,  but  liable  to  wild 
impulses;  our  flesh  was  too  coarse  to  endure 
renunciation  and  restraint.  We  had  been  edu- 
cated in  the  evolutionary  ape-theory,  and  been 
taught  that  man  belongs  to  the  department  of 
zoology  and  not  that  of  anthropology.  We  had 
also  been  told  that  the  physical  process  that 
precedes  the  New  Birth  of  the  soul,  which  is 
called  conversion  from  evil,  was  neurasthenia, 
and  should  be  treated  with  warm  baths  or  brom- 
kali.  Veterinary  doctors  held  professorships  of 
philosophy  and  introduced  zoology  as  a  compul- 
sory subject  in  priests'  examinations.  The  ser- 
vants of  the  Lord  learnt  that  religion  was  a 
deposit  from  the  tertiary  period,  that  animals  were 
more  religious  than  man,  and  that  man  had 
created  God.  The  seducer  of  our  youth  taught 
us  that  the  Life  of  Jesus  was  a  lubricous  novel, 
that  the  doctrine  of  the  Bible  regarding  Christ 
simply  amounted  to  this — that  He  was  a  promi- 
nent Galilsean;  and  finally,  that  the  superman 
was  the  bandit  who  may  commit  any  outrage 
against  others,  provided  he  can  prove  a  false 
alibi  and  has  no   witnesses. 


Lar^e-Hearted  CHristianity  113 

"It  was  a  terrible  period  which  recalled  that 
of  the  Roman  emperors,  and  like  that,  heralded 
the  arrival  of  Christianity.  We,  who  had  been 
seduced,  then  became  seducers.  But  we  thank 
God  that  no  harm  was  done.  Everything  serves, 
and  we  had  to  serve  as  a  terrifying  example. 
There  is  always  something. 

Large-hearted  Christianity. — "But  we  ought 
not  to  frighten  men  with  Christianity,  nor  become 
hair-splitters.  Let  faith  be  a  uniting  bond  to 
lead  us  onward,  let  faith  be  hope  in  a  better  life 
after  this,  a  connecting-link  with  that  which  is 
higher.  Let  the  fruits  of  faith  be  seen  to  be 
humanity,  resignation,  mercifulness.  But  don't 
go  and  count  how  many  glasses  of  whisky  your 
neighbour  drinks;  don't  call  him  a  hypocrite  if 
he  once  in  a  while  gives  way  to  the  flesh,  or  if 
he  is  angry  and  says  hard  words.  Don't  ask 
how  often  he  goes  to  church;  don't  spy  on  his 
words,  if  in  an  access  of  ill-humour  he  speaks 
otherwise  than  he  would.  You  cannot  see 
whether  in  solitude  he  does  not  regret  it  and 
chastens  himself.  A  white  lie  or  the  embellish- 
ment of  a  story  is  not  a  deadly  sin;  an  impropriety 
can  be  so  atoned  for  by  imprisonment  that  it 
ought  to  be  forgotten.     Do  not  secede  from  the 


114  Xones  of  tKe  Spirit 

Church  because  of  some  dogmas  which  you  do 
not  understand.  Don't  form  a  sect  with  the 
idea  of  raising  yourself  to  the  rank  of  shepherd, 
instead  of  forming  part  of  the  flock.  One  should 
have  a  large-hearted  Christianity  for  daily  use, 
and  a  stricter  one  for  festival  days. 

"Don't  talk  about  religion.  It  is  too  good  for 
that.  .  .  .  Virtue  consists  in  striving,  even 
when  it  does  not  always  succeed." 

"The  noble  Spirit  now  is  free 
And  saved  from  evil  scheming, 
Whoer'er  aspires  unweariedly 
Is  not  beyond  redeeming. 
And  if  he  feels  the  grace  of  Love 
That  from  on  high  is  given. 
The  blessed  hosts  that  wait  above 
Shall  welcome  him  to  heaven." 

(Faust,  Part  II.) 

Reconnection  with  the  Aerial  Wire. — The  pupil 
spoke:  "You  said  once  that  the  tramcar  comes 
to  a  standstill  if  it  loses  connection  with  the 
aerial  wire.  I  know  that  very  well.  Would 
that  my  friends  who  are  atheists  and  pagans  knew 
what  a  relief  it  is  to  find  the  connection  again. 
It  is  like  diving  in  crystal-clear  sea-water  after 
perspiring  in  the  heat  of  the  dog-days  on  a  dusty 
high-road.  The  heart  grows  light;  the  system- 
atic ill-luck  ceases;  one  has  some  success,  one's 


THe  -Art  of  Conversion  115 

undertakings  prosper,  one  can  sleep  at  night, 
and  neurasthenia  ceases.  I  remember  how,  after 
a  night  of  debauchery,  the  most  beautiful  land- 
scape at  sunrise  looked  ghastly;  while  after  a 
night  of  quiet  sleep  the  same  scene  looked 
paradisal. 

"When  we  gain  the  certainty,  and  the  belief 
founded  on  certainty,  that  life  is  continued  on 
the  other  side,  then  we  find  it  easier  on  this  one, 
and  do  not  hunt  after  trifles  till  we  are  weary. 
Then  we  discover  the  divine  light-heartedness 
of  which  Goethe  speaks,  which  finds  expression 
in  a  certain  contempt  of  honours  and  distinction, 
promotion  and  money.  We  become  more  in- 
sensible to  blows  and  abuse.  Everything  goes 
more  softly  and  smoothly.  However  dark  the 
surroundings  may  be,  we  become  self-luminous 
so  to  speak,  and  carry  the  little  pocket-lamp  hope 
with  us." 

The  Art  of  Conversion. — The  pupil  continued: 
"Plato  describes  earthly  life  as  follows:  'Men 
sit  in  a  cavern  with  their  backs  towards  the  light. 
Therefore  they  only  see  the  shadows  or  simulacra 
of  what  passes  in  front  of  the  cavern.  Whoever 
hits  on  the  brilliant  idea  of  turning  round,  sees 
the  originals,  the  realities  in  themselves,  the  light/ 


ii6  Xtones  of  tHe  Spirit 

"So  simple  is  it!  Only  to  turn  round,  or  be 
converted,  in  a  word.  But  it  is  not  necessary 
on  that  account  to  become  a  monk,  ascetic,  or 
hermit.  I  aknost  agree  with  Luther  that  faith 
is  everything.  Our  deeds  lag  far  behind,  and 
need  only  consist  in  refraining  from  all  deliberate 
evil.  As  a  beginning,  one  may  be  content  with 
not  stealing,  lying,  or  bearing  false  witness.  If 
we  have  greater  claims  and  wish  to  train  ourselves 
into  supermen,  we  may.  But  if  we  do  not  succeed, 
we  should  not  throw  the  whole  system  over- 
board, but  ceaselessly  commence  anew,  never 
despair,  try  to  smile  at  our  vain  efforts,  be  patient 
with  ourselves,  and  believe  good  of  God. 

"When  the  religious  man  falls,  he  gets  up 
again,  brushes  himself,  and  goes  on;  the  irre- 
ligious one  remains  lying  in  the  dirt.  Thus  the 
whole  art  of  life  consists  in  not  turning  one's 
back  to  the  light. 

The  Superman. — "The  gentlemen  who  talk 
about  development  say  that  Christianity  is  out 
of  date  and  lies  behind  us.  No!  Christianity 
is   everywhere;   behind   us,    near   us,    before   us. 

"Pagans  of  all  kinds  really  created  their  gods 
in  their  own  likeness.  But  with  Christianity 
came  the  transcendent  God  and  revealed  Him- 


TTHe  Sviperman  II7 

self  to  men  who  had  the  goodwill  to  understand 
Him.  Therefore  Christianity  is  the  beginning 
of  the  world's  history,  its  middle,  and  its  end. 
*  Whither  and  whence  everything  streams,'  as 
Hegel  says. 

"The  multiplication-table  is  still  older,  but 
is  not  out  of  date ;  it  is  still  used,  though  logarithms 
have  been  discovered.  The  laws  of  thought, 
atomic  weights,  oscillations  of  waves  of  light 
and  sound,  have  not  been  left  behind  us,  but  are 
still  continually  close  to  us. 

"But  if  one  does  reattach  oneself  to  Chris- 
tianity, one  should  take  it  without  refining — 
stock  and  barrel,  dogmas  and  miracles.  One 
should  swallow  it  uncritically,  naively,  in  great 
gulps,  then  it  goes  down  like  castor-oil  in  hot 
coffee.  '  Open  your  mouth  and  shut  your  eyes.' 
That  is  the  only  way. 

"I  am  a  Christian,  i.  e.  I  am  a  nobleman;  I 
belong  to  the  upper  class ;  I  have  been  vaccinated ; 
I  have  served  my  time  in  the  army ;  I  am  a  citizen 
and  of  i\A\  age ;  I  am  a  white  man ;  I  have  a  clean 
birth-certificate;  I  am  a  superman." 

To  be  a  Christian  Is  not  to  be  a  Pietist. — The 

pupil  continued:  "If  my  pagan  friends  would 
only  give   up   the  idea  that   a   Christian  must 


il8  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

be  a  pietist,  they  would  come  into  our  pantheon 
in  crowds.  Luther  ate  and  drank  what  was  set 
before  him,  as  St.  Paul  enjoins;  he  played,  sang, 
hunted,  and  played  skittles.  He  swore  also; 
but  notice  well,  he  never  asked  God  to  curse  him, 
or  the  Devil  to  take  him;  he  only  said,  'Curse 
such  and  such  a  thing,'  or  '  To  the  devil  with  it! ' 
Certainly  I  think  he  might  have  modified  that 
habit,  as  it  created  annoyance,  and  he  was  a 
chief  priest  and  prophet. 

"It  is  a  standing  error  to  think  that  we  lay- 
men should  live  every  day  like  priests.  We 
cannot;  we  have  neither  the  time  nor  the  means; 
it  is  a  shame  to  demand  it.  But  with  the  priest 
it  is  otherwise.  He  has  devoted  his  life  to  the 
service  of  the  Lord.  He  should  spend  the  six 
days  of  the  week  in  so  preparing  his  sermon 
that  he  can  say  it  by  heart.  I  will  not  compare 
the  clergyman  with  the  actor,  but  on  Sunday 
he  ought  at  any  rate  be  able  to  repeat  his  role 
verbatim.  For  doing  that  he  gets  his  bread. 
If  the  congregation  see  that  he  reads  his  sermon, 
they  think,  '  We  could  do  that  too ;  there  is  no 
art  in  that ! '  And  the  minister  of  the  Lord 
must  take  good  heed  to  himself  else  he  arouses 
annoyance.  People  will  not  take  it  ill  if  he  is 
austere,   and  refrains  from  society,   for  he  is  a 


Stren^tK  and  Value  of  Words     119 

representative,  not  a  private  person.  With  the 
layman  it  is  otherwise.  He  is  a  poor  sinful 
man,  of  whom  too  much  cannot  be  demanded 
as  he  drags  his  daily  burden  through  the  wicked 
world." 

Strength  and  Value  of  Words. — The  teacher 
said:  "Thought  is  an  act  of  the  mind,  and  words 
are  congealed  thoughts.  The  uttered  word  can 
have  an  effect  like  a  charm  or  an  adjuration. 
There  are  men  who  are  so  sensitive  that  they 
are  aware  at  a  distance  whether  people  are  speak- 
ing well  or  ill  of  them.  There  are  men  who  are 
not  afraid  of  committing  a  crime,  but  are  startled 
at  the  word  which  names  it.  Weak  men  cannot 
endure  hard  words;  they  make  them  ill.  A  word 
may  kill.  If  I  were  a  judge,  I  would  always  first 
ask  the  man-slayer,  '  What  did  he  say  which  made 
you  strike  him  down?  '  And  then  I  should  allow 
for  extenuating  circumstances,  or  even  acquit 
the  man,  if  the  deadly  word  caused  the  deadly 
blow  as  a  reflex-action.  If  for  fifty  years  I  have 
cherished  the  memory  of  my  parents,  and  my 
family,  property,  and  honour  is  based  on  my 
relationship  to  them,  and  then  someone  comes 
and  tells  me  I  am  not  my  father's  son,  he  has 
killed  me;   the   whole  edifice  of   my   emotional 


120  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

life  collapses.  He  has  paralysed  my  energy  and 
willingness  to  sacrifice  myself;  he  has  imposed 
upon  me  the  monstrous  task  of  radically  changing 
my  views  of  the  worid  and  men;  he  has  rooted- 
up  my  filial  affection;  with  a  single  word  he  has 
annihilated  my  whole  life.  If  he  has  lied,  he  is 
simply  a  murderer ! " 

The  Black  lUuminati. — The  teacher  said: 
"Everything  serves,  and  error  often  helps  for- 
ward truth.  At  the  end  of  the  last  century, 
the  materialists  began  to  sniff  about  in  the  occult. 
One  day  they  discovered  the  capacity  of  men, 
when  in  a  hypnotic  state,  of  seeing  at  a  distance, 
of  beholding  the  invisible,  and  of  penetrating 
the  future.  Then  they  accomplished,  curiously 
enough,  the  honourable  task  of  establishing  the 
truth  of  clairvoyance  and  prophecy,  as  well  as 
the  possibility  of  miracles.  The  theosophists, 
who  really  at  a  terrible  period  of  the  '  black  illumi- 
nation '  sought  to  penetrate  behind  phenomena 
and  dug  up  useful  fragments  of  ancient  wisdom, 
were  however  hostile  to  Christianity.  They 
went  so  far  as  to  send  one  of  their  prophets  to 
India  to  warn  the  natives  against  the  mission- 
aries. 

"But  in  course  of  time  they  began  to  investi- 


AntKropomorpHism  121 

gate  Christianity  again ;  they  were  now  provided 
with  the  proper  means  for  understanding  the 
mysteries  of  Christ's  incarnation  and  atoning 
death,  of  sacraments  and  miracles.  And  see  now ! 
their  latest  prophetess  has  written  a  book  to 
explain  and  defend  Christianity!  All  roads  seem 
to  lead  to  Christ.  No  one  has  done  such  good 
service  to  Christianity  as  the  materialistic  oc- 
cultists and  the  atheistic  theosophists.  Young 
France  has  been  Christianised  by  the  pagans.  The 
last  apostle  of  the  rustic  intelligence  stands  iso- 
lated there  in  his  damnable  infatuation,  believing 
himself  to  be  the  only  'illuminated'  one  in  the 
world.  Let  us  hope  that  he  is  the  last  of  the 
'  Illuminati. 

"Yes,  let  us  hope  so." 

Anthropomorphism. — "Man  is  inclined  to  make 
everything  after  his  own  likeness.  When  the 
heathen  made  themselves  gods,  the  latter  resem- 
bled their  creators  in  all  their  defects  and  sins. 
That  is  called  Anthropomorphism.  The  artist 
who  paints  a  portrait,  always  puts  something  of 
his  own  into  it.  I  know  a  sculptor  who  always 
used  to  model  his  own  undersized  figure  with 
its  two  short  legs,  whether  he  was  representing 
mountaineers,   faims,   men  of  science,   or  kings. 


122  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

The  plumper  he  became  in  course  of  time,  the 
more  rotund  his  figures  grew.  I  know  a  pho- 
tographer who  always  retouches  his  portraits 
of  people  till  they  resemble  himself.  He  must 
admire  his  own  exterior,  and  wish  to  have  it 
taken  as  a  standard-type.  The  critic  when  he 
describes  an  author,  proceeds  in  a  similar  fashion. 
Every  point  in  which  the  author  resembles  him 
is  reckoned  a  merit;  everyone  in  which  he  differs, 
a  fault. 

"When  anyone  says,  'This  poet  is  the  best  I 
know;  you  must  read  him!'  that  means,  'This 
poet  has  my  views;  you  must  share  them,  for 
they  are  the  best  in  the  world.'  Everyone  would 
like  to  fashion  humanity  and  the  world  in  his 
own  image.  But  if  everyone  had  his  way,  what 
would  the  world  look  like?" 

Fury-worship  as  a  Penal  Hallucination. — The 

teacher  said:  "Swedenborg  describes,  in  his 
fashion,  how  the  greatest  tyrant  arrived  in  Hades. 
He  wished  to  stir  up  hell  against  heaven,  and  he 
was  punished  by  having  a  terrible  woman  sent 
to  rule  him,  whom  he  worshipped.  She  was  a 
compendium  of  original  sin,  deliberate  falsehood, 
wilful  deceit,  ugliness,  uncleanness,  destructive- 
ness.     But  he  was  compelled  to  see  in  her  the 


F"ury-"wor8Kip  123 

good,  the  beautiful,  the  lovable;  he  called  her 
'  my  angel.'  All  his  adherents  were  obliged  to 
worship  her,  or  he  called  them  'woman-haters.' 
Whence  Swedenborg  derived  his  narratives,  I 
know  not,  but  his  descriptions  are  like  photo- 
graphs of  our  everyday  life.  The  modem  worship 
of  women  does  not  come  down  from  the  Christian 
ages  of  chivalry,  for  those  romanticists  honoured 
womanhood  in  its  virtues.  Our  new  gyneolatry 
is  derived  from  the  heathen;  it  is  a  kind  of  fury- 
worship  imposed  on  us  as  a  penal  hallucination. 
The  sons  of  the  Lord  of  Dung  deify  their  furies, 
and  praise  their  faults.  In  their  view  sin  is  virtue, 
wickedness  is  character,  deceitfulness  is  a  proof 
of  intelligence,  coarseness  is  strength.  He  who 
will  not  join  in  this  devil-worship  is  called  a 
woman-hater.  Chaste  wives  and  mothers  are 
called  old-fashioned  and  perverse.  Euripides  de- 
scribes in  the  Hippolytus  how  this  king's  son 
dedicated  his  devotion  to  the  chaste  Diana  and 
fled  the  demotic  Venus.  This  impure  goddess 
avenged  herself  by  accusing  the  innocent  Hippoly- 
tus of  incest  and  then  caused  him  to  be  put  to 
death.  Euripides  on  account  of  writing  this 
tragedy  was  called  a  'woman-hater,'  and  is  said 
to  have  been  torn  in  pieces  by  female  dogs.  That 
is  a  pretty  legend ! " 


124  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

Amerigo  or  Columbus. — The  teacher  said: 
"Human  greatness  and  the  way  of  becoming 
great  is  something  very  remarkable.  Often  envi- 
ous hatred  of  the  deserving  seems  to  be  converted 
into  immense  love  for  the  undeserving.  The 
infatuation  of  hatred  may  go  so  far  that  when 
the  deserving  has  done  a  good  work,  the  undeserv- 
ing gets  the  glory  of  it.  But  often  also  there 
are  secret  reasons  for  this  abnormal  result.  Every 
schoolboy  has  asked  why  America  was  not  named 
after  Columbus,  who  discovered  it.  I  also  made 
that  inquiry,  and  while  I  served  the  Lord  of  Dung 
I  found  it  quite  natural  that  the  undeserving 
cartographer  Vespucci  should  have  the  honour 
of  the  discovery. 

"But  when  I  recovered  my  reason  (and  men 
called  me  mad) ,  I  read  the  biography  of  Columbus 
again.  There  I  foimd  that,  together  with  his 
merits,  he  had  great  faults.  Like  David,  he 
sinned  by  pride,  avarice,  cruelty,  and  deceit. 
His  pride  was  boundless.  Before  undertaking 
his  doubtful  voyage,  he  laid  down  as  a  condition 
that  he  was  to  be  Viceroy  (he,  the  weaver's  son!) 
and  receive  a  tithe  of  the  revenues.  Well,  he 
never  learnt  that  he  had  discovered  a  new  quarter 
of  the  globe.     He  died  and  was  forgotten. 

"Vespucci,  on  the  other  hand,  was  not  only  a 


A.  Circumnavigator  of  tKe  Globe     125 

cartographer,  but  sailed  round  South  America, 
and  discovered  that  the  New  World  was  not 
India.  He  seems  to  have  been  a  good-natured, 
upright,  and  modest  man.  Toscanelli,  his  con- 
temporary, is  also  said  to  have  announced  the 
existence  of  a  new  world,  but  that  is  not  so 
certain." 

A  Circumnavigator  of  the  Globe. — The  pupil 
said:  "Can  you  resolve  my  discords?" 

"  I  will  call  you  a  circumnavigator  of  the  globe. 
You  have  sailed  round  it,  and  returned  to  the 
point  whence  you  set  out.  No  one  can  go 
further  than  that.  But  you  return  with  a  freight 
of  experience,  knowledge,  and  wisdom.  There- 
fore the  journey  was  not  in  vain,  or  to  speak 
more  correctly,  it  has  fulfilled  its  object.  Max 
Miiller,  who  at  the  time  of  the  decadence  was 
the  scapegoat  for  all  the  atheists,  concludes  his 
history  of  religion  thus:  'It  is  easy  to  say  that 
the  completest  faith  is  a  child's  faith.  Nothing 
can  be  truer.  The  older  we  grow,  the  more  we 
learn  to  comprehend  the  wisdom  of  children's 
faith.'  And  in  another  place  he  says:  'To 
explain  religion  by  referring  it  to  a  religious 
impulse,  or  a  religious  capacity,  is  merely  to 
explain  the  known  by  the  less  known.     The  real 


126  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

religious  impulse  or  instinct  is  the  apprehension 
of  the  infinite.'  Thank  your  misfortunes  that 
you  have  arrived  at  the  infinite.  '  The  fortunate 
do  not  believe  that  miracles  still  happen,  for  only 
in  misery  we  recognise  God's  hand  and  finger, 
which  leads  good  men  to  good.'" 

"Do  you  know  who  said  that?" 

"No;   is   it    Luther?" 

"No;  it  is  Goethe  in  Hermann  and  Dorothea. 
And  the  'great  pagan'  wrote  in  1779  to  Lavater: 
'My  God,  to  whom  I  have  been  ever  faithful, 
has  in  secret  richly  blessed  me.  For  my  destiny 
is  quite  hidden  from  men;  they  can  neither  hear 
nor  see  at  all,  how  it  is  determined.'  The  Lice- 
King  omits  such  expressions  when  he  wishes  to 
incorporate  Goethe  among  his  slimy  larvae." 

The  Poet's  Children. — The  teacher  continued: 
"Moreover,  as  I  have  already  told  you,  you  are 
a  poet,  and  must  pass  through  your  reincarnations 
here.  You  have  a  right  to  invent  poetic  per- 
sonalities, and  at  every  stage  to  speak  the  speech 
of  the  one  you  represent.  Shakespeare  has  done 
so,  whether  he  did  it  consciously,  or  whether  life 
assigned  him  the  various  roles  he  played.  At 
one  time  he  is  a  cheerful  optimist ;  at  another,  the 
misogynist  Timon,  or  the  world-despiser  Hamlet; 


raitHfvil  in  Little  Things  127 

he  is  the  jealous  Othello,  the  amorous  Romeo, 
so-and-so  the  panegyrist  of  women,  and  so-and- 
so  the  misogynist.  I  believe  indeed  that  he  has, 
by  way  of  experiment,  been  the  murderer  Macbeth, 
and  the  monster  Richard  III.  He  utters  the 
malignant  speeches  of  the  last  with  real  relish. 
Every  rascal  may  defend  himself,  and  Shakes- 
peare is  his  advocate. 

"There  the  poet  should  have  no  grave;  his 
ashes  should  be  strewn  to  all  the  winds  of  heaven. 
He  should  only  live  in  his  works,  if  they  possess 
vital  power.  Men  should  accustom  themselves 
to  look  upon  him  as  something  different  from 
an  ordinary  man;  they  ought  not  to  judge  him, 
but  regard  him  as  something  which  they  cannot 
understand.  You  remember  the  dying  Epami- 
nondas.  When  they  condoled  with  him  because 
he  left  no  children,  he  answered:  'Children?  I 
have  Leuktra  and  Mantinea.'" 

Faithful  in  Little  Things.— The  pupil  said: 
"I  had  a  friend,  who  died  lately  at  the  age  of 
sixty.  According  to  my  view,  he  has  in  his  own 
way  realised  the  type  of  a  good  citizen  and  a 
good  man.  He  was  a  tradesman,  and  had  passed 
through  a  youth  of  hardship,  being  from  six  in 
the  morning  till  ten  at  night  in  the  shop,  the  doors 


128  2^nes  of  tKe  Spirit 

of  which  were  open  even  in  winter.  Under  his 
first  master  he  quickly  discovered  that  dishonest 
tricks  did  not  pay.  Therefore  he  became  rigidly 
honest,  studied  the  details  of  his  trade,  made 
rapid  progress,  kept  sober  and  wide-awake. 
Accordingly  he  soon  became  his  own  master,  and 
wealth  came  of  itself.  He  married  and  had 
children,  who  turned  out  excellently  in  conse- 
quence of  their  father's  example.  Now,  this 
man  lived  his  whole  life  according  to  the  teaching 
he  had  received  in  school  and  church.  He  did 
his  duty,  honoured  father  and  mother,  obej'ed 
law  and  authority,  never  criticised  those  who 
managed  the  government  of  the  country,  which 
he  did  not  profess  to  understand.  He  took  no 
notice  of  selfish  agitations,  did  not  worry  himself 
about  the  riddle  of  the  universe,  and  warned  his 
children  not  to  be  eager  after  novelties.  He  also 
possessed  positive  virtues;  he  was  merciful  and 
helpful,  faithful  and  modest. 

"When  his  sons  began  to  study,  he  did  not 
attempt  to  vie  with  them  in  learning.  But  when 
they  attacked  his  childlike  faith,  he  defended  it 
like  a  man.  He  never  ventured  to  occupy  a 
public  post,  for  he  knew  his  limits.  He  never 
sought  for  distinctions,  nor  did  he  obtain  any. 
Well,  what  name  do  the  larvae  of  the  snake- worm 


Unpracticalness  of  HvisK-eatin^    129 

give  such  a  blameless,  good,  faithful  man?  They 
call  him  *a  servile  rascal.'     Is  that  just?" 

The  teacher  answered:  "No!  it  is  flagrantly 
unjust!  But  there  are  other  types  of  character, 
which  are  also  laudable." 

"Yes,  indeed,  but  that  does  not  lessen  the  value 
of  his  life;  he  was  faithful  in  small  things." 

The  Unpracticalness  of  Husk-eating.  —  The 
teacher  said:  "Young  people  say,  'What  do 
we  want  with  the  wisdom  of  age?  We  want 
to  learn  for  ourselves.'  I  generally  answer,  'Yes, 
learn  for  yourselves — from  us!  What  good-for- 
tune to  be  able  to  inherit  the  rich  experiences 
of  others,  and  not  to  make  these  expensive, 
dirty  experiments  for  oneself!  If  the  young 
commenced  where  we  left  off,  the  world  and 
humanity  would  progress  with  giant  strides. 
Instead  of  this  everyone  begins  afresh,  that  is, 
in  the  moral  sphere.  WTien  it  is  a  question  of 
making  a  new  incandescent  lamp,  we  do  not 
begin  with  a  machine  for  generating  electricity, 
but  continue  from  the  latest  discovery  of  our 
predecessors. 

"I  have  also  asked  myself  whether  it  is  neces- 
sary first  to  be  burnt  in  order  to  dread  the  fire. 
I  have  never  seen  my  children  go  to  the  oven 
9 


130  2^ones  of  tHe  Spirit 

and  lay  hold  of  the  red  dampers  to  see  whether 
they  would  be  burnt.  They  let  themselves  be 
warned,  and  therefore  escaped  the  painful  ex- 
perience. I  have  asked  myself  whether  one  must 
first  feed  with  the  swine  before  one  can  appre- 
ciate the  food  of  the  household,  and  whether  the 
Prodigal  Son  is  a  necessary  transitionary  type. 
But  to  all  these  stupid  and  impertinent  questions 
life  has  given  a  negative  answer. 

"Swedenborg  says  that  all  sin  and  wickedness 
leave  traces  behind  them,  but  that  these  are 
not  apparent  in  the  human  face  till  old  age. 
Subsequently,  in  the  disrobing-room  on  the  other 
side,  they  look  as  if  they  had  been  thrown  through 
a  magnifying-glass  on  a  white  screen.  I  once 
looked  into  an  attic-room;  the  curtain  was  drawn 
aside,  and  an  old  man  put  out  his  head  in  order 
to  look  at  the  sun.  When  he  saw  me  he  hid  his 
face  immediately. 

" That  was  a  face !  .  .  .  God  protect  us!" 

A  Youthful  Dream  for  Seven  Shillings.— The 
teacher  said:  "There  are  people  who  carry 
about  with  them  a  measuring-rule  for  everything. 
They  demand  exactness  and  order;  they  love 
perfection  in  all  things.  They  are  called  dis- 
contented,  carping,   pedantic.     But   it   is   unfair 


"YoutHful  Dream  for  Seven  SHillin^s  131 

to  blame  them.  If  one  is  content  with  the  medi- 
ocre, one  will  at  last  only  get  the  worst.  Alen 
give  only  as  little  as  they  can,  and  the  whole 
of  life  is  defective.  Conscientious  men  are  not 
happy,  for  they  cannot  lower  their  demands; 
they  appear  to  simpletons  who  have  not  learnt, 
that  nothing  is  what  it  gives  itself  out  to  be,  that 
nothing  answers  the  expectations  we  formed  of 
it.  One  is  inclined  to  ask  whether  such  men 
bring  with  them  at  birth  recollections  of  a  place 
or  a  condition  where  ideal  perfection  existed. 
When  I  was  seven  years  old,  T  often  remained 
standing  fascinated  before  a  music-dealer's  shop 
window,  and  contemplated  a  hunter's  horn  which 
was  hung  up  there.  There  was  something  charm- 
ing in  the  proportions  of  these  curved  lines.  This 
brass  tube  tapered  off  beautifully  from  the  great 
width  of  its  bell-mouth  to  its  narrowed  mouth- 
piece. In  the  gloomy  street  it  made  me  hear 
natiu-e's  music  in  woods  and  fields;  I  loved  the 
instrument.  But  when  a  boy  told  me  that  it 
cost  thirty  shillings,  I  wondered  whether  life 
would  ever  fulfil  my  desire,  for  in  order  to  buy 
it  I  would  have  to  go  for  two  and  a  half  years 
without  breakfast.  Finally  I  got  to  be  thirty 
years  old,  and  had  some  money  to  spare  for  the 
first  time  in  my  life.     I  bought  the  himting-horn ; 


132  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

it  cost  only  seven  shillings ;  the  boy  had  told  a  lie. 
But  the  instrument  had  only  three  notes.     When 
I  got  tired  of  my  prize  it  was  consigned  to  the- 
attic. 

"It  was,  at  any  rate,  the  fulfilment  of  a  youth- 
ful dream!" 

Envy  Nobody? — The  teacher  said:  "Envy  no- 
body !  As  a  child  I  was  boarded  out  in  the  country 
in  mean  surroundings.  I  lived  in  a  kind  of  shanty, 
ate  from  an  earthenware  plate,  sat  on  a  wooden 
stool.  But  there  was  a  castle  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, a  real  castle,  with  portraits  of  kings  in  the 
entrance-hall,  the  ancestors  of  the  young  count 
who  lived  there.  One  Sunday  we  were  allowed 
to  go,  first  into  the  castle,  then  into  the  garden. 
That  was  paradise!  We  could  bathe,  and  were 
allowed  to  pick  the  cherries,  blood-black,  gold- 
yellow,  fire-red.  The  count  looked  on,  but  ate 
nothing;  he  had  had  enough.  Then  we  left,  and 
the  gate  of  paradise  was  shut  behind  us. 

"Fifty  years  later  I  saw  the  portrait  of  the 
young  count,  and  heard  his  history.  He  looked 
unhappy  and  despairing,  as  though  he  were  weary 
of  everything.  He  had  passed  through  the  bit- 
terest experiences  of  life,  including  poverty  for 
a  time.     His  affairs  came  into   liquidation,  and 


Envy  Nobody!  133 

he  had  to  spend  ten  years  abroad  in  an  hotel, 
his  expenses  being  defrayed  by  his  creditors. 
He  also  had  his  wife  with  him,  who,  as  she  thought, 
had  married  into  paradise,  in  order  to  be  imme- 
diately driven  out  of  it  again.  The  man  had  been 
nothing  and  had  done  nothing;  all  he  could  do 
was  to  wait  for  his  meals.  He  had  possessed 
horses  and  a  yacht ;  he  had  gambled  and  borrowed 
money;  he  had  eaten  truffles  and  drunk  wine; 
but  when  he  was  forty  had  to  give  it  up,  for  his 
nose  grew  red  and  he  had  gout  in  his  great  toe. 
I  will  not  speak  of  his  domestic  miseries. 

"Now  he  sits  in  his  castle,  rich  as  Croesus, 
but  lonely,  and  educates  his  housekeeper's  children, 
which  are  his,  but  which  cannot  bear  his  name. 
His  evening  meal  consists  of  gruel,  and  he  goes 
to  bed  at  half-past  nine.  He  dares  not  use  his 
wine-cellar,  for  then  his  great  toe  aches.  His 
solitary  comparative  pleasure  is  to  be  able  to 
walk,  in  order  to  eat  his  gruel  and  be  able  to  sleep. 
Envy  nobody!" 

The  Galley-slaves  of  Ambition. — The  teacher 
said:  "Balzac  speaks  in  one  place  of  the  galley- 
slaves  of  ambition,  and  describes  their  condition 
very  much  as  Swedenborg  describes  certain  of 
his  hells,  or  as  Homer  depicts  Tantalus,  Ixion, 


134  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

and  the  Danaides.  They  are  ceaselessly  haunted 
by  their  passion  to  be  superior  to  others;  to  be 
seen  and  heard  before  all  others.  The  malice 
and  love  of  power  which  this  involves  are  neces- 
sarily punished.  When  the  ambitious  man  can- 
not be  the  first  and  only  one  he  becomes  ill. 
Voltaire  had  to  go  to  bed  when  a  prince  travelled 
past  his  house  without  visiting  him.  If  one  of 
such  people's  letters  remains  unanswered  they 
think  it  is  a  sign  that  their  credit  has  sunk,  and 
they  worry  about  the  reason  of  it  till  they  grow 
how  hypochondriacal.  If  they  read  in  the  paper 
such  and  such  important  people  were  present 
when  the  king  landed,  and  their  names  are  omitted, 
the  world  is  darkened  for  them.  That  is  to  say, 
it  is  not  enough  for  them  that  they  should  be 
praised  and  called  the  greatest;  they  suffer  pains 
like  death  when  others  are  eulogised.  They  feel 
perpetual  fear  lest  they  should  be  set  aside  and 
their  juniors  get  ahead  of  them.  In  that  they 
resemble  a  great  criminal  who  expects  to  be  de- 
tected. The  portrait  of  an  ambitious  man  has  a 
great  resemblance  to  that  of  a  galley-slave.  Imperi- 
ousness,  hatred,  fear — especially  fear — are  depicted 
in  his  face. 

"Balzac,  on  the  other  hand,  was  impelled  by 
the  noble  ambition  to  make  discoveries,  and  to 


Hard  to  Disentangle  135 

do  good  work  in  which  he  took  pleasure.  But 
his  own  Ufe  was  hidden.  Unknown  and  mis- 
understood in  his  own  Paris,  which  he  had  dis- 
covered, he  saw  petty  chroniclers  obtain  the  first 
prizes  without  being  made  ill  by  it.  And  when, 
at  the  age  of  fifty-one,  he  had  succeeded  in  mak- 
ing a  home  for  himself,  into  which  he  was  about 
to  bring  his  first  and  only  wife,  he  died  on  the 
day  of  the  publication  of  the  banns.  A  fine  death 
after  a  life  of  renunciation!" 

Hard  to  Disentangle.  —  The  teacher  said: 
"With  age,  as  is  well  knowTi,  one  arrives  at  a 
different  view  of  life  than  one  had  formerly. 
Then,  on  account  of  its  wealth  and  variety,  life 
is  almost  immeasurable,  and  above  all,  very 
difficult  to  disentangle. 

"At  the  age  of  forty  I  came  home  after  an 
absence  of  many  years.  On  my  arrival  I  received 
a  dunning  letter  from  an  antiquarian  bookseller. 
Curiously  enough,  without  my  being  able  to 
explain  why,  this  debt  caused  me  no  further 
uneasiness  of  conscience.  But  then  a  friend 
came  and  advised  me  to  settle  the  matter,  as 
the  bookseller  was  spreading  an  evil  report  about 
me.  I  went  and  paid  the  trifling  account,  but 
the  bookseller  looked  so  uneasy  and  strange,  was 


136  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

so  polite  and  grateful,  that  I  began  to  reflect 
about  him.  When  I  came  home  I  remembered 
this:  twenty  years  previously  I  had  entrusted 
him  with  an  antique  work  of  art  to  sell.  After 
I  had  visited  the  man  several  times  in  his  shop 
and  the  article  had  not  been  sold,  I  felt  ashamed 
to  go  any  more,  began  to  think  of  something  else, 
and  forgot  the  matter.  His  present  thankfulness 
showed  that  he  had  not  forgotten  it ;  we  were  then 
quits,  if  he  did  not  still  owe  me  something. 

"Now  I  felt  ashamed  on  his  account,  and 
determined  not  to  mention  the  matter.  But  then 
it  occurred  to  me  that  I  owed  his  predecessor 
a  sum  of  money  for  books.  I  went  again,  found 
him  showing  the  same  uneasy  manner  as  before, 
and  asked  for  his  predecessor's  address.  He  was 
in  America.  I  asked  whether  he  had  relatives 
here  in  the  town.  He  had  none.  I  went  home 
and  thought  to  myself,  'Then  we  must  drop 
that  matter  also.'  In  this  way,  in  old  age,  one 
must  alternate  pay  and  let  go;  now  as  a  debtor, 
now  as  creditor.  But  who  strikes  the  balance  of 
accounts?  The  goddess  of  justice,  and  she  is 
neither  deaf  nor  blind." 

The  Art  of  Settling  Accounts. — The  teacher 
continued:     "It  really  looks  as  though  we  could 


THe  A.rt  of  Settling  A.ccounts      137 

not  go  hence  till  everything  is  settled,  great  and 
small  alike.  Recently  there  died  an  early  friend 
of  mine,  who,  at  an  important  juncture,  had 
helped  me  with  a  hundred  kronas. '  I  had  at 
first  regarded  it  as  a  loan.  But  he  never  dunned 
me,  and  during  the  forty  years  which  have  since 
elapsed  he  was  gradually  transformed  in  my 
memory  into  a  benefactor,  and  all  was  well. 
When  at  last  he  died  a  millionaire,  I  did  not  wish 
to  trouble  his  executors  with  the  trifle,  but  sent 
a  wreath  to  the  funeral  with  a  sigh  of  gratitude 
and  many  kindly  thoughts.  Was  that  the  end? 
No!  Shortly  afterwards  I  felt  a  kind  of  inward 
admonition  to  resume  relations  with  a  bookbinder 
whom  I  had  ceased  to  employ  on  account  of 
his  carelessness.  He  came  and  was  glad  to  get 
work  again;  he  was  greatly  pleased,  and  declared 
that  I  had  appeared  just  in  time  to  deliver  him. 
When  I  understood  his  difficulties,  for  he  had  a 
family,  I  was  willing  to  give  him  fifty  kronas 
in  advance,  but  as  I  had  no  change  I  gave  him 
a  hundred,  though  reluctantly.  I  saw  how  his 
back  straightened  itself,  and  his  confidence  in 
life  reawoke.  He  went — and  never  returned.  I 
was  angry  at  first,  because  he  had  treated  me 
like  a  fool,  and  I  dunned  him  with  letters.     But 

'A  krona  =  is.  3d. 


138  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

then  the  memory  of  my  departed  friend  recurred ; 
various  thoughts  wove  themselves  together  in 
my  mind — the  pleasure  of  calling  him  a  scamp, 
the  fifty-krona  note  which  had  turned  into  a 
hundred-krona  note,  the  scamp's  need,  and  the 
part  I  had  played  as  deliverer.  In  my  own 
mind  I  gave  him  a  discharge,  and  became  quite 
quiet." 

Growing  Old  Gracefully.— The  teacher  con- 
tinued: "When  one  becomes  old,  one  wonders 
at  first  how  men  have,  as  it  were,  permission  to 
do  one  an  injustice.  If  one  complains,  one  finds 
no  sympathy.  Even  our  friends  take  the  part 
of  those  who  injure  us.  But  when  we  have  dis- 
covered the  secret  of  it,  we  take  it  all  quietly. 
One  is  cheated  in  ordinary  business,  and  says 
to  oneself,  '  This  is  in  requital  for  that. '  Our 
children  prove  ungrateful  and  difficult  to  manage, 
exactly  like  we  were.  Young  people  are  insolent 
and  pert  towards  us,  and  we  see  our  former  selves 
reflected  in  them.  Servants  do  their  work  badly, 
and  perpetrate  petty  thefts;  we  must  put  up  with 
it,  when  we  think  of  our  own  work  scamped  on 
various  occasions.  Friends  are  faithless,  just 
as  we  have  been  ourselves.  By  practice  one 
comes  at  last  so  far,  that  one  asks  for  no  more, 


The  Eight  Wild  Beaets  139 

demands  no  more,  and  is  no  longer  angry.  I 
then  always  think  of  David  when  Shimei  cast 
stones  at  him  and  cursed  him,  and  Abishai  wanted 
to  strike  off  the  calumniator's  head.  David  de- 
clined to  take  vengeance,  saying,  '  Let  him  curse, 
for  the  Lord  hath  bidden  him.'  When  the  same 
king,  because  of  his  sins,  had  to  choose  between 
famine,  pestilence,  or  raids  of  the  enemy,  he  prayed 
'  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  God,  and  not  into  the 
hands  of  man.' 

"He  understood  how  to  grow  old  gracefully, 
and  to  make  up  his  accounts.  So  he  departed 
praising  God,  *  Who  proveth  the  heart  and 
loveth  uprightness.'  " 

The  Eight  Wild  Beasts. — The  teacher  said: 
"You  know  yourself  that  when  one  awakes  from 
somnambulism,  one  finds  the  world  quite  mad. 
Then  one  loses  all  hope  and  all  confidence,  and 
believes  we  are  delivered  into  the  power  of  the 
Devil.  Once  during  such  a  moment  of  awaken- 
ing, I  read  the  works  of  the  Adventists,  and 
the  idea  struck  me  that  they  were  right.  They 
ground  their  belief  on  the  Revelation  of  St.  John, 
and  say  as  follows :  '  We  live  in  the  last  era 
during  which  the  eight  wild  beasts  rule  the  earth. 
Of  Christianity  no  trace  is  to  be  found:  power, 


140  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

wealth,  industry,  art,  science,  literature,  are  in 
the  hands  of  the  pagans.  The  state-craft  of  the 
wild  beasts  is  lying  and  force,  alternating  with 
the  most  insidious  hypocrisy.  They  preach 
peace,  distribute  peace-prizes,  build  peace-palaces, 
but  are  always  seeking  war  in  order  to  be  able 
to  rob  and  tyrannise.  If  their  subordinates  be- 
lieve them,  and  preach  peace  themselves,  they 
are  thrown  into  prison.  But,  says  St.  John, 
nations  will  come  from  the  East  and  destroy  the 
godless  who  have  rejected  Christ.  The  last 
battle  is  to  be  at  Megiddo  in  Syria.  But  since 
all  this  takes  place  under  God's  control,  the  wild 
beasts  are  protected  in  order  to  carry  out  their 
work  of  execution.  The  number  of  the  last  wild 
beast,  666,  is  not  yet  interpreted,  for  it  is  not  yet 
come.  The  eight  wild  beasts  you  can  find  in 
a  book,  which  is  called  A  de  G";'  of  the  people  of 
the  East  you  read  every  morning  in  your  paper. 
It  looks  almost  as  though  it  were  true.  The  pie- 
tists believe  it,  and  keep  their  lamps  burning.'  " 

Deaf  and  Blind. — The  teacher  continued: 
"Under  the  rule  of  the  wild  beast  men  have 
become  demoralised.  They  reject  every  idea  of 
a  retributive  justice.     If  anyone  points  to  an  in- 

'  Not  explained  in  original  footnote. 


Deaf  and  Blind  141 

stance  of  it,  he  is  suppressed.  If  a  blasphemer 
loses  his  tongue,  they  call  it  'Actinomyces,' 
nothing  more.  And  the  obstinacy  of  the  unre- 
pentant revolts  against  heaven  itself:  'It  is  so 
far  to  heaven;  what  do  we  know  about  it?  We 
are  ants;  no  God  troubles  himself  about  us.'  If 
something  good  happens  to  a  man,  he  attributes 
it  to  his  own  power;  if  something  evil,  he  calls 
it  '  bad-luck.'  Science  explains  earthquakes  by 
algebra,  and  if  it  wants  to  be  very  learned,  by 
seismology.  The  quantity  of  crime  and  wicked- 
ness which  must  exist  is  fixed  by  statistics.  And 
yet  heaven  is  so  near.  God's  invisible  servants 
are  around  us,  in  the  streets  and  in  our  rooms. 
We  do  not  see  them,  but  those  who  have  eyes, 
and  only  they,  behold  their  operations.  The 
world  is  like  a  vast  institute  for  the  deaf  and  blind, 
in  which  the  unfortunates  are  told  by  their 
teachers  that  they  are  the  only  ones  who  can  see 
and  hear.  The  theosophists  say  that  we  are  al- 
ready living  two  lives — a  conscious  one  on  the 
earth,  and  an  unconscious  one  above.  But  most 
men  seem  to  have  broken  off  communication 
with  the  higher  plane,  and  therefore  they  cannot 
comprehend  what  is  from  above,  but  have  dis- 
covered that  there  is  no  higher  and  no  lower  in 
the  universe." 


142  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

Recollections. — The  pupil  said:  "Often  has 
my  experience  confirmed  this  saying  of  the  theo- 
sophists,  that,  as  well  as  here,  we  live  also  on  a 
higher  plane  from  whence  we  receive  our  inspira- 
tions, ideas,  and  intuitions.  After  such  visita- 
tions (do  they  take  place  by  night?)  I  do  not 
flourish  down  here,  but  find  everj-thing  perverse, 
defective,  absurd.  I  once  conceived  the  strange 
idea  that  I  have  my  true  home  somewhere  else, 
and  that  a  vague  recollection  has  made  me  give 
my  present  home  an  arrangement  similar  to  that 
of  my  real  one. 

"In  my  present  abode  there  was  a  room  which, 
after  certain  storms  that  lasted  for  two  years, 
was  so  devastated  that  it  looked  as  if  devils  had 
haunted  it.  Then  a  sum  of  money  came  into 
my  hands  unexpectedly.  The  next  morning  I 
awoke  with  the  distinct  determination  to  repair 
and  furnish  the  room.  I  went  at  once  to  the 
upholsterer,  and  knew  so  exactly  what  furniture 
and  curtains  I  wanted,  that  when  I  saw  the 
material  it  looked  to  me  familiar  and  welcome. 
A  workman  came,  proved  honest,  worked  quietly 
like  a  spirit,  and  in  a  few  days  the  room  was 
ready.  When  I  entered  it,  I  was  seized  with  a 
sort  of  ecstatic  shiver  as  though  I  had  already 
seen  this  room  once  before  under  happy  circum- 


CKildren  Are  W^onder-CHildren   143 

stances.  And  now  when  I  enter  the  room  alone, 
I  see  it  resembles  something  which  I  do  not  re- 
member, but  which  waits  for  me.  I  seem  to 
know  that  there  I  am  waited  for  by  my  only  true 
wife,  by  my  children,  friends  and  relations,  and 
that  this  incompleteness  I  see  is  only  a  poor  copy 
drawn  from  a  dim  recollection.  Think,  if  it 
only  were  so!" 

Children  Are  Wonder-Children. — The  teacher 
answered:  "What  you  say  accords  with  Plato's 
theory  of  recollection.  He  believes  that  all 
which  a  child  learns  is  recovered  from  some  pre- 
vious knowledge.  During  my  long  experience 
it  has  often  happened  to  me  to  meet  people  who, 
the  first  time  I  saw  them,  seemed  like  old  acquaint- 
ances. It  seems,  too,  that  the  woman  we  love 
appears  congenial  to  us,  made  for  us,  sent  in  our 
way.  But  most  of  all  is  this  the  case  with  our 
children.  All  children  are,  in  spite  of  idle  talk, 
wonder-children — till  they  have  learnt  to  talk. 
Little  children  often  say  things  which  astound 
one.  They  understand  all  that  we  say  even  when 
we  hide  it  from  them.  They  seem  to  be  thought- 
readers,  divine  our  most  secret  purposes,  and 
rebuke  us  beforehand.  'Don't  do  that,'  said 
my  two-year-old  child  before  my  plan  was  half 


144  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

formed.  'What?'  I  asked.  The  child  did  not 
answer,  but  smiled  roguishly  and  half  embarrassed, 
as  though  it  wished  to  say,  'You  know  yourself 
already.'  When  the  child  had  learnt  to  be  silent, 
it  pushed  with  its  foot  against  the  chair  when  the 
parents'  talk  bordered  on  impropriety.  Often 
it  spoke  like  an  elder  person  who  understands 
things  better  than  others.  At  three  years  old 
it  pronounced  this  opinion  on  the  nurse, 
'Hannah  is  very  nice,  but  she  does  not  under- 
stand how  to  treat  children.'  When  her  mother 
was  sad,  it  said,  'Sit  down  here  and  don't  be  sad; 
I  will  tell  you  a  story.'  I  will  only  add — there 
was  no  mimicry  about  it,  as  the  ape-king  would 
be  inclined  to  believe.     What   was  it  then?" 

Men-resembling  Men.  —  The  teacher  said: 
"It  seems  as  though  some  errors  were  necessary 
and  unavoidable.  They  appear  as  a  kind  of 
infectious  virus.  A  generation  is  inoculated  with 
it,  carries  the  germ  till  it  has  sprouted,  and  then 
there  is  an  end  of  it.  Views  of  the  world  and 
man  come  up,  are  disseminated,  evaporated,  and 
disappear.  But  those  who  have  been  inoculated 
with  them  believe  they  are  their  own  views, 
because  they  have  assimilated  them  with  their 
personality.     Often  the  error  ends  in  a  compro- 


Men-resembling  Men  145 

mise  with  a  new  view.  Thus  Darwinism  made 
it  seem  probable  that  men  derived  their  origin 
from  animals.  Then  came  the  theosophists  with 
the  opinion  that  our  souls  are  in  process  of  trans- 
migration from  one  human  body  to  another. 
Thence  comes  this  excessive  feeling  of  discomfort, 
this  longing  for  deliverance,  this  sensation  of 
constraint,  the  pain  of  existence,  the  sighing  of 
the  creature.  Those  who  do  not  feel  this  uneasi- 
ness, but  flourish  here,  are  probably  at  home  here. 
Their  inexplicable  sympathy  for  animals  and 
their  disbelief  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul 
points  to  a  connection  with  the  lower  forms  of 
existence  of  which  they  are  conscious,  and  which 
we  cannot  deny.  The  doctrine  that  we  are 
created  after  God's  image  involves  no  contra- 
diction, for  the  spirit  is  from  God;  but  there  is 
no  word  which  frightens  these  anthropomorphists 
so  much  as  the  word  'spirit.'  Yes,  there  is  one, 
and  that  is  the  word  'spirits,'  which  makes  the 
fleshy  part  of  them  shudder." 

Christ  Is  Risen. — The  teacher  said:  "After 
we  have  had  Christianity  as  a  civilising  agency 
for  nineteen  hundred  years,  people  begin  to  discuss 
it.  Is  this  the  opportune  time  to  ask  whether 
Christ  has  existed  and  whether  the  documents 
10 


146  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

of  Christianity  are  genuine?  It  reminds  one  of 
the  author  who  wrote  a  book  to  prove  that  Napo- 
leon never  existed.  It  is  as  if  we  were  now  to 
discover  that  Caesar's  Commentaries  are  false, 
and  that  he  never  conquered  Gaul,  or  as  if  we 
discussed  whether  the  discovery  of  America  had 
been  useful.  Ibsen's  partisans  have  denied  that 
Columbus  discovered  America;  they  say  it  was 
Leif  Erikssen  (perhaps  we  shall  soon  hear  it  was 
his  wife) . 

"However,  Christ  returned  again  at  the  end 
of  the  last  century,  and  was  received  by  all.  The 
pagans  depicted  him  as  the  poor  school-teacher; 
the  anarchists  celebrated  him  as  the  type  of 
suffering  humanity;  the  symbolists  did  homage 
to  him  as  Christus  Consolator;  the  sociaHsts 
preached  his  gospel  to  the  obscure,  the  weary, 
and  heavy-laden.  He  was  to  be  seen  every- 
where—in the  quarters  of  the  French  general 
staff  and  in  the  espionage  office;  in  Lourdes 
and  in  Rome;  on  Mont  Martre  and  in  Moscow. 
His  churches  and  convents  were  purified;  his 
miracles  explained  by  occtiltists,  spiritists,  hyp- 
notists; science  progressed  and  confirmed  the 
prophecies.  Finally  we  saw  at  the  congress  of 
rehgions  in  Chicago  in  1897  that  all  peoples  and 
religions   of   the   world   bent   their   knees   when 


IVevolxition-SKeep  147 

Christ's  especial  prayer,  the  Lord's  Prayer,  was 
recited.  Then  the  beHevers  gave  each  other  the 
brotherly  kiss  and  greeting,  'Christ  is  risen!'" 

Revolution-Sheep.  —  The  teacher  continued : 
"In  the  year  1889  we  celebrated  the  French 
Revolution,  but  there  was  little  life  or  order  in 
the  celebration.  Everything  which  was  uprooted 
in  1789  still  existed — Church  and  State,  kings 
and  courts,  priests  and  officials.  The  French 
republic  was  the  worst  of  all,  with  its  Panama 
Canal  jobbers  at  the  head:  Wilson,  Herz,  Cle- 
menceau,  Arton.  The  constitution  was  kept  alive 
by  bribes,  bills  of  exchange  more  or  less  false, 
and  pensions.  Offices  were  created  in  order  to 
find  places  for  voters,  husbands  of  mistresses, 
and  the  discontented.  At  that  time  the  French 
republic  was  governed  by  criminals,  and  the 
Church  by  pagans.  Military  and  civil  orders 
were  sold,  works  of  art  bought,  votes  canvassed 
for.  One  could  not  become  a  deputy  for  less 
than  two  hundred  thousand  francs.  Then  execu- 
tioners and  revolutions  were  necessary,  for  the 
principles  of  the  Great  Revolution,  if  one  can 
talk  of  principles  in  connection  with  a  volcano 
in  eruption,  were  forgotten.  Now  in  the  per- 
spective of  a  hundred  years  the  'Great'  Revolu- 


148  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 


,./ 


tion  appeared  only  like  an  execution,  a  decimation 
on  a  large  scale;  an  experiment  with  negative 
results,  but  as  such  certainly  very  interesting. 
One  of  the  recollections  of  my  youth  is  that  when 
we  'who  were  bom  with  the  ideas  of  the  French 
Revolution'  (ideas  revived  in  1848)  began  to 
talk  of  the  'Great'  Revolution,  we  were  called 
'Revolution-sheep.'  I  did  not  understand  this 
at  the  time,  for  I  did  not  yet  think  for  myself 
but  merely  drivelled.  But  now  I  understand 
it.  Now  we  know  that  the  constitution  of  a 
countiy  is  almost  a  matter  of  indifference  for 
the  common  weal;  thus  one  constitution  is  not 
much  better  or  worse  than  another." 

"Life  Woven  of  the  Same  Stuff  as  our  Dreams" 

— The  teacher  said :  "Life  itself  can  often  appear 
like  a  bad  dream.  One  morning  I  went  for  a 
walk  in  the  country,  and  was  absorbed  in  my 
thoughts,  when  a  great  Danish  dog  rushed  to- 
wards me.  A  young  rascal  stood  near,  laughing. 
I  drew  my  revolver,  and  exclaimed,  'Call  off 
the  dog,  or  I  shoot  it.'  The  young  fellow  only 
laughed,  the  dog  retreated,  and  I  went  on.  On 
my  way  back,  a  man  armed  with  a  musket  met 
me,  and  asked  how  I  dared  threaten  to  shoot 
his  son.     I  answered,   that  the  threat  had  only 


"Life  Woven  of  Dreams**  149 

referred  to  the  dog.  On  the  evening  of  the  same 
day  I  was  told  that  the  dog  had  been  found  dead, 
and  that  I  was  suspected  of  having  poisoned  it. 
Although  I  was  innocent,  I  was  regarded  as  an 
assassin.     That  was  a  nice  business! 

"Again:  one  evening  I  went  to  see  my  four- 
year-old  daughter,  who  waited  for  me  below  in 
the  park.  From  the  distance  I  saw  her  in  the 
company  of  two  unpleasant-looking  children,  but 
she  did  not  see  me.  As  I  quickened  my  steps,  I 
saw  that  she  went  off  farther  with  the  children. 
I  called  her,  but  she  did  not  hear.  I  ran  and  saw 
her  at  the  entrance  of  a  cellar,  into  which  the 
children  wanted  to  pull  her  down.  She  resisted 
them,  but  they  took  hold  of  her  clothes.  Now 
she  screamed,  and  consequently  did  not  hear  my 
call.  I  wished  to  hasten  to  her,  but  between  us 
there  was  a  grass  lawn,  with  an  iron  railing  round 
it,  on  which  I  did  not  venture  to  tread  for  fear 
of  the  police.  So  I  stood  there  and  called.  At 
last  my  child  pulled  herself  free,  but  did  not  see 
me.     So  weirdly  things  may  happen  sometimes!" 

The  Gospel  of  the  Pagans. — The  teacher  con- 
tinued: "The  gospel  of  the  pagans  is  immunity 
from  pimishment;  if  one  mentions  a  case  where 
it  has  gone  ill  with  a  scoundrel,  the  pagans  snort 


150  Zones  of  tKc  Spirit 

and  say  one  is  too  severe.  But  it  is  life  which 
is  severe.  The  gospel  of  the  pagans  consists  in 
showing  that  virtue  is  simplicity  and  is  seduced; 
that  religion  is  a  disease;  that  scoundrelism  is 
a  form  of  strength,  and  ought  to  conquer  by  the 
right  of  the  stronger.  Sometimes,  by  way  of  a 
change,  they  demand  that  a  weak  rascal  should 
be  pardoned;  that  everything  should  be  forgiven 
and  tolerated.  By  'toleration'  they  mean  that 
one  should  let  oneself  be  suppressed  and  persecuted 
by  them.  If  one  resists,  they  cry,  'He  revenges 
himself.  He  is  a  bad  man.'  But  revenge  pre- 
supposes some  offence  as  the  cause,  and  when 
the  cause  disappears  the  effect  disappears.  Cer- 
tainly there  are  some  men  who  avenge  their  own 
stupidity  on  the  innocent.  I  have  an  enemy, 
who  still  revenges  himself  on  me  because  he 
could  not  steal  my  money.  The  gospel  for  him 
would  be  the  law  reversed,  '  You  may  steal,  but 
others  may  not.'" 

Punished  by  the  Imagination. — The  teacher 
continued:  "Swedenborg  speaks  of  being  pun- 
ished by  the  imagination.  That  is  what  doctors 
generally  call  'hallucination.'  He  who  suffers 
from  persecution-mania  is  persecuted.  The  Phil- 
istines  think  he  is  only  persecuted  by  his  im- 


PvinisKed  by  tKe  Imagination      151 

aginations,  but  if  the  wise  man  asks  why  he  is 
persecuted  by  his  imaginations,  conscience  answers 
by  ceaselessly  endeavouring  to  discover  the  per- 
secutor. The  patient  goes  through  the  whole 
list  of  the  persons  whom  he  has  offended.  If 
they  are  many  in  number,  and  their  hatred  is 
justified,  one  may  well  suppose  that  the  sick  man 
is  persecuted  by  their  hatred,  for  which  his  awak- 
ened conscience  is  now  receptive. 

"In  my  inner  life  punishment  by  hallucinations 
has  played  the  chief  part;  but  after  I  had  dis- 
covered the  rationale  of  it,  I  regarded  the  halluci- 
nation itself  as  a  punishment.  The  severest  form 
of  punishment  is  suspicion,  when  I  am  obliged  to 
suspect  the  innocent.  That  is  irresistible.  My 
thoughts  sway  between  trust  and  mistrust.  I 
struggle  and  conquer  myself  gradually,  either  by 
acknowledging  myself  wrong,  or  by  accepting 
the  breach  of  faith  resignedly.  But  if  I  give 
vent  to  suspicion  I  must  ask  for  pardon;  then  I 
take  this  humiliation  as  a  discharge.  Most  of 
my  misfortunes  have  been  imaginary;  but  they 
have  had  the  same  effect  as  real  ones,  because  I 
came  to  the  consciousness  of  my  own  wrong- 
doing. The  incurable  man  is  the  obstinate  one 
who  believes  himself  wrongfully  persecuted  by 
other  men. 


152  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

Bankruptcy  of  Philosophy. — "When  Kant  dur- 
ing the  dark  period  of  the  'Illumination'  had 
proved  that  philosophy  can  prove  nothing,  he 
set  up  the  theory  of  the  categorical  imperative 
and  postulate,  i.  e.  the  demands  of  religion  and 
morality.  Put  in  plain  language,  that  is  equiva- 
lent to  faith.  This  declaration  of  the  bankruptcy 
of  philosophy  saved  men  from  useless  brain-cud- 
gelling. Christianity  revived,  now  supported  by 
the  philosophers  with  Hegel  at  their  head.  But 
the  old  stream  flowed  parallel  with  it  once  more. 
In  spite  of  the  bankruptcy  of  philosophy,  notes 
of  exchange  were  issued  and  cashed  by  the  dunder- 
headed  free-thinkers  Feuerbach  and  Strauss.  They 
wanted  to  approach  God  with  the  everyday 
intelHgence  which  one  uses  in  kitchens  and  grocers' 
shops.  The  last  fool  was  Renan,  whose  cheques 
still  circulate  mostly  among  college-students  and 
the  like.  At  the  beginning  of  the  last  century 
E.  T.  A.  Hoffmann  wrote  thus :  '  In  ancient 
times  we  had  a  simple  generous  faith;  we  recog- 
nised that  there  was  a  Higher,  but  knew  also 
that  our  senses  were  insufficient  to  reach  it.  Then 
came  the  "Illumination,"  which  made  every- 
thing so  clear,  that  for  sheer  clearness  not  a  trace 
could  be  seen.  And  now  we  are  told  that  the 
supernatural  is  to  be  grasped  by  a  firm  arm  of 


A.  "WKole  Life  in  an  Hovir  153 

flesh  and  bone.'  To-day  it  is  called  the  Science 
of  Religion.  That  is  a  science  whicji  starts  from 
the  false  presupposition  that  religion  is  a  mental 
disease  because  it  cannot  be  mathematically 
proved." 

A  Whole  Life  in  an  Hour. — The  teacher  said: 
"I  had  a  strange  experience,  which  I  have  not 
understood,  but  which  I  must  remember.  I 
woke  up  one  morning  feeling  cheerful  without 
any  special  reason.  Obeying  an  impulse,  I  went 
into  the  town.  As  I  wandered  about  at  random, 
I  came  into  the  quarter  where  I  had  been  born 
and  brought  up.  I  saw  the  kindergarten  and 
school  I  used  to  attend,  and  my  parents'  house. 
I  went  through  narrow  streets  and  passed  by  the 
national  school  in  which  I  was  worried  as  a 
student-teacher.  I  saw  two  different  houses  in 
which  I  had  suffered  as  a  private  tutor.  I  went 
northwards  and  came  to  another  school  in  which 
I  had  been  tortured.  In  a  market-place  I  passed 
another  house  in  which,  during  my  childhood, 
our  only  acquaintance  lived,  and  twenty  years 
later  in  the  same  dwelling  there  lived  my  worst 
enemy.  I  passed  by  a  house  in  which  my  sister 
had  been  married  thirty  years  before,  and  another 
house   in   which   my   brother   had   had   a   hard 


154  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

struggle.  Then  I  came  to  a  third  school  In 
which  I  was  a  student;  in  the  same  house  lives 
still  my  first  and  last  publisher.  I  passed  by  a 
house  where,  forty  years  ago,  I  was  accepted  as 
an  aspirant  for  the  stage,  and  where  I  offered 
my  first  drama;  also  by  the  house  where  I  was 
married  for  the  first  time.  Then  the  meaning 
of  it  began  to  grow  clearer.  I  saw  the  furniture 
warehouse  whence  I  ordered  my  furniture  the  last 
time.  I  passed  by  the  house  where  my  wife  and 
child  lived  three  years  ago. 

"In  the  space  of  one  hour  I  had  seen  the  pano- 
rama of  my  whole  life  in  living  pictures.  Only 
three  years  were  wanting  to  the  present  time. 
It  was  like  an  agony  or  a  death-hour  when  the 
whole  of  life  rushes  past  one. 

"Then  I  felt  drawn  northward  where  my  last 
child  and  her  mother  live.  An  instinct  told  me 
to  bring  perfume  for  the  mother  and  school-fees 
for  the  child,  as  that  day  it  was  going  to  the 
kindergarten  for  the  first  time.  Then  I  began 
to  himt  for  the  perfume;  it  ought  to  have  been 
lilac,  but  I  had  to  take  lily-of-the-valley.  I  also 
wanted  flowers,  but  could  not  find  any. 

"So  I  continued  northwards  and  came  to  their 
house;  the  sun  shone  in,  the  table  was  spread  for 
coffee;  there  was  an  air  of  comfort,  homeliness, 


TKe  After-Odovir  155 

and  kindness  over  all.  I  was  received  in  a  friendly 
way,  felt  in  a  moment  that  the  whole  of  my  black 
life  lay  behind  me,  and  realised  the  happiness  of 
merely  being  alive." 

The  After-Odour. — The  teacher  continued: 
"As  I  went  thence,  I  felt  the  happiness  of  the 
present.  All  the  past  was  only  the  dark  back- 
ground. I  was  thankful  in  my  heart,  when  I 
remembered  all  I  had  come  through  without 
perishing.  When  I  came  home,  I  learnt  through 
the  telephone  that  my  worst  enemy  had  died 
on  the  morning  of  this  very  day.  His  death- 
struggle  was  taking  place  at  the  very  time  that 
I  made  the  pilgrimage  through  my  past  life.  I 
reflected:  Why  should  I  pass  through  my  agony 
just  when  he  died?  He  was  a  '  black  man  ''  with 
an  obsolete  materialistic  view  of  things  which 
he  thought  was  modem;  a  literary  huckster  who 
wrote  reviews  of  marchionesses'  rubbishy  books, 
in  order  to  be  invited  to  their  castles,  and  praised 
his  associates  as  long  as  they  consorted  with  him; 
the  partisan  of  a  coterie  and  a  log-roller. 

"I  had  never  come  into  personal  contact  with 
him,  but  once,  a  long  time  ago,  he  had  called 
himself  my  pupil.     He  could  not  however  grow, 

'  Strindberg's  expression  for  a  free-thinker. 


156  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

nor  follow  me  upwards.  It  Was  now  as  though 
my  old  self  had  died  in  him.  Perhaps  therefore 
I  suffered  his  death  and  felt  it  just  now.  But 
why  the  perfume?  That  I  know  not.  But  when 
I  learnt  that  the  deceased  decomposed  so  rapidly 
that  he  had  to  be  buried  at  once,  I  could  not  help 
connecting  the  perfume  with  his  dissolution.  When, 
eight  days  afterwards,  I  read  a  posthumous  review 
by  the  deceased  of  my  last  work,  and  saw  that  he 
regretted  that  I  was  not  a  pagan  and  lamented  my 
defection  from  the  Lord  of  Dung,  it  was  as  though 
I  sniffed  an  after-odour  frorn  the  dunghole,  and  I 
seized  the  perfume-flask  in  good  earnest." 

Peaches  and  Turnips. — The  teacher  continued: 
"At  the  same  time  a  similar  death  happened. 
Another  of  the  '  Black  Flags '  departed  under 
peculiar  circumstances  two  days  after  the  first. 
I  had  known  this  man  during  the  period  in  which 
the  ape-king  ruled.  We  did  not  like  each  other, 
but  like  condemned  criminals  were  compelled 
to  keep  together.  Our  friendship  was  only  the 
reverse-side  of  a  hatred;  his  hideous  appearance 
frightened  me;  his  profession  was  equally  repul- 
sive, but  brought  in  much  money.  He  wrote 
according  to  the  taste  of  the  time,  and  lived  in 
the  false  idea  that  he  was  '  illuminated  '  and  liberal- 


PeacHes  and  Turnips  157 

minded.  When  his  father  died,  the  son  expressed 
his  regret  that  '  his  father  had  recovered  the  faith 
of  his  childhood.'  What  happened  then?  The 
son  who  lived  in  faith  in  wickedness  and  ugliness, 
began  to  develop  this  faith  in  a  peculiar  way. 
He  had  in  his  writings  shown  a  predilection  for 
turnips;  in  his  latter  days  he  inoculated  peaches 
with  turnip-juice  in  order  to  make  the  southern 
fruit  partake  of  the  beautiful  flavour  of  the  latter. 
The  same  perverse  taste  was  evident  in  his  last 
book;  there  his  sympathy  is  decidedly  on  the 
side  of  the  '  blacks.'  He  ended  in  an  asylum. 
He  could  not  be  saved,  for  he  did  not  know  how 
to  seek  the  Saviour.  So  he  died.  I  had  just 
regretted  not  having  sent  some  flowers  to  his 
grave,  when  I  saw  in  an  obituary  notice  that  the 
dead  man  had  vented  a  noisome  lie  against  me, 
which  a  bosom  friend  of  his  now  repeats  in  print. 
In  the  same  notice  the  world  is  threatened  with 
his  posthumous  writings.  When  they  come  out, 
I  will  buy  a  flower  and  hold  it  under  my  nose, 
while  I  breathe  a  sigh  of  gratitude  to  him,  who 
restored  to  me  the  faith  of  my  childhood  and 
saved  me  from  the  mad-house." 

The  Web  of  Lies. — The  pupil  said:     "I  am 
eight-and-fifty    years   old;   have   lied    less   than 


158  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

others;  and  have  therefore  always  believed  what 
others  said.  When,  in  my  old  age,  I  sit  together 
with  friends  of  my  youth  and  make  comparisons, 
I  find  that  my  whole  life  is  a  web  of  lies.  Last 
night  I  sat  with  such  a  friend,  and  had  a  protracted 
talk  of  the  following  intelligent  kind.  I  said, 
'  When  the  Prince  of  X.  married  .  .  .'  '  Married ! 
He  is  n't  married.'  '  Is  n't  he?  Is  that  a  lie  too? ' 
*  He  has  never  been  married.'  '  Now  during 
twenty  years  I  have  spread  it  abroad  that  he  was 
married,  and  a  whole  story  has  been  built  on 
this  lie,  which  I  was  about  to  relate,  but  now 
I  must  drop  it.' 

"Here  is  another  lie!  During  thirty  years  I 
have  told  people  that  Dr.  H.  was  present  when 
the  Malunger  murderer  was  executed.  He  had 
falsely  informed  me  that,  as  a  medical  student, 
he  had  received  a  commission  to  examine  the 
head  after  it  had  been  cut  off.  He  gave  me  such 
interesting  details  on  the  subject  that  I  was 
accustomed  to  describe  them  in  company.  What 
a  liar  he  was ! 

'"But  he  was  there.'  '  Was  he  there?  '  '  Cer- 
tainly; I  saw  him  standing  behind  the  priest 
when  I  took  a  photograph  of  the  scaffold.'  '  You? 
Have  you  .  .  .  Are  you  lying  or  is  he? '  'I  am 
not.'    *  No ;  now  I  don't  know  where  I  am.    Every- 


LetKe  159 

thing  is  topsy-turvy.  For  the  last  ten  years 
I  have  retracted  the  He  which  I  had  spread.  I 
have  made  Dr.  H.  a  liar!  One  ought  never  to 
speak  or  write,  but  only  draw  the  things  which 
one  absolutely  needs.  He  was  then  really  there! 
How  can  I  restore  to  him  his  honour,  of  which 
I  have  robbed  him? 

Lethe. — The  teacher  answered:  "This  whole 
web  of  lies,  errors,  misunderstandings,  which 
forms  the  basis  of  our  lives,  transforms  life  itself 
into  something  dreamlike  and  unreal,  and  must  be 
dissolved  when  we  pass  into  the  other  life.  I 
read  to-day  of  a  dying  man.  Instead  of  seeing 
his  life  pass  by  him,  as  is  usually  the  case,  his 
whole  life  dissolved  into  a  cloud;  his  memory 
failed;  all  bitterness  and  all  trouble  disappeared; 
and  on  the  other  hand,  all  his  disappointed  hopes 
assumed  an  aspect  of  reality.  He  thought  he 
was  loved  by  his  wife,  who  had  been  cold  to  him; 
he  thanked  her  for  all  the  tenderness  which  she 
had  never  shown  him.  The  children  who  had 
deserted  him  he  saw  again  in  the  bright  light 
of  youth;  he  seemed  to  hear  the  sound  of  little 
feet  upon  the  floor,  the  characteristic  of  a  happy 
home,  and  his  face  wore  a  happy  smile.  The 
dark  autumn  weather  outside  changed  into  spring ; 


i6o  Xones  of  tKe  Spirit 

little  girls  handed  him  roses  to  kiss  in  order  to 
enchance  their  value.  Finally  he  saw  himself 
and  his  family  in  an  arbour  drinking  coffee  out 
of  Dresden  china  cups,  into  which  they  dipped 
yellow  saffron-cakes.  .  .  .  Then  he  fell  into 
his  last  sleep.  It  was  a  beautiful  and  enviable 
death;  it  was  paradise.  From  the  ancient  Lethe 
he  drank  forgetfulness  of  the  troubles  he  had  un- 
dergone before  he  trod  the  Elysian  fields.  If  it 
only  were  so !  To  drag  all  one's  bygone  filth  with 
one  in  memory  cannot  be  favourable  to  a  new  life 
in  purity.  There  are  illnesses  in  which  one  loses 
memory.    May  death  prove  to  be  such  an  illness ! " 

A  Suffering  God. — The  teacher  said:  "The 
idea  of  a  suffering  God  was  foolishness  to  the 
Greeks,  who  considered  a  God  as  a  tyrant  gloating 
over  the  sufferings  of  men.  But  the  seeming 
contradiction  is  solved  if  one  supposes  that  a 
Holy  Being  deposits  itself,  so  to  speak,  in  human- 
ity, and  that  htimanity  then  becomes  defiled. 
That  is  a  boundless  grief  like  his  who  has  deposited 
the  best  part  of  his  soul  and  his  emotions  with  a 
woman.  If  she  then  goes  and  defiles  herself,  she 
defiles  her  husband.  Or  a  father's  nature  has 
passed  over  to  his  children,  and  he  wishes  to  see 
his  best  impulses  continued  and  multiplied  by 


A.  Suffering  God  i6i 

them,  and  his  likeness  ennobled.  If  the  children 
dishonour  themselves,  the  father  suffers;  the 
stem  withers  when  the  roots  are  injured, 

"Such  I  imagine  to  be  the  feelings  of  God 
the  Father  when  the  sinfulness  of  humanity- 
grows  noisome  and  dishonours  Him,  and  perhaps 
threatens  to  affect  His  own  holiness.  He  will  be 
wroth  and  lament— perhaps  even  feel  Himself 
defiled — rather  than  cut  off  the  cancerous  limb 
of  humanity.  Christ  is  no  more  represented  as 
beautiful,  but  with  features  distorted  by  the  sins 
of  others;  these  he  has  taken  on  himself  or  drawn 
to  himself,  for  he  who  approaches  pitch  is  defiled. 
In  order  to  be  free  from  the  impure  element  he 
must  die  by  the  destruction  of  the  body.  Incar- 
nation involved  the  greatest  suffering  of  all. 

"But  the  death  of  Christ  may  also  signify  that 
the  Father  freed  himself  from  the  sins  of  humanity, 
and  broke  off  connection  with  the  evil  race  who 
dishonoured  Him.  He  who  will  now  seek  Him 
must  rise  to  His  heights,  and  gain  admission  by 
a  pure  life.  He  Himself  will  descend  no  more 
into  this  valley  of  filth;  the  air  is  too  thick,  the 
company  too  mixed.  And  that  is  why  things 
are  as  they  are." 

The    Atonement.— The    teacher    said:     "The 


i62  2^ones  of  tHe  Spirit 

work  of  the  Atonement  has  been  very  difficult  for 
me  to  understand.  Often  I  have  tried  to  explain 
in  a  way  satisfactory  to  myself,  but  without  suc- 
cess. If  God  had  offered  up  His  Son  as  an  atone- 
ment for  mankind,  there  would  necessarily  have 
been  peace  and  paradisal  quietness  on  earth,  but 
such  is  not  the  case.  The  period  of  the  Roman 
emperors  before  Christ  was  indeed  terrible,  but 
the  next  thousand  years  were  no  better;  they 
rather  resembled  a  deluge  in  which  the  old  nations 
were  exterminated  by  barbarians.  The  second 
millennium  was  better,  very  much  better.  The 
third  will  perhaps  close  with  a  complete  reconcilia- 
tion between  humanity  and  God.  Everything 
points  to  that,  though  the  heathen  may  reign 
for  a  while  as  instruments  of  chastisement,  and 
executioners  and  possessors  of  wealth.  The  Egyp- 
tian has  an  important  part  to  play,  and  slavery 
is  not  bad  as  a  school  of  discipline.  In  the  desert 
one  learns  the  difficult  art  of  loneliness,  and  in  the 
strange  land  of  Assyria  one  feels  a  wholesome 
home-sickness.  Still,  when  the  Egyptian  raises 
his  stick  to  strike,  comfort  yourself  with  Christ's 
words  to  Pilate,  'Thou  wouldest  have  no  power 
over  Me,  if  it  were  not  given  thee  from  above.' 
And  when  you  eat  the  bread  of  the  heathen,  think 
like  the  Maccabees,  *I  eat  thy  bread,  but  I  do 


WKen  Nations  Go  Mad  163 

not  sacrifice  upon  thy  altar.'  Everything  is 
tolerable  so  long  as  we  do  not  let  ourselves  be 
beguiled  into  believing  that  those  who  are  in  power 
are  God's  friends  and  favourites.  Our  fine  gentle- 
men who  imagine  that  they  are  forwarding  develop- 
ment and  are  the  sole  trustees  of  right,  progress, 
and  illumination,  are  only  children  of  this  world. 
Let  that  be  granted  them,  and  much  good  may  it 
do  them!" 

When  Nations  Go  Mad. — The  teacher  said: 
"Nations  are  sometimes  seized  by  madness  as 
by  other  diseases.  The  Javanese  are  said  to  suffer 
from  chronic  madness;  the  men  run  amuck  with 
a  knife  in  order  to  slay;  the  women  suffer  from  a 
mania  for  mimicry;  if  they  see  anyone  throw 
something  into  the  air,  they  imitate  the  gesture; 
they  can  even  under  such  circumstances  throw 
their  children  away.  The  Japanese  again  are 
attacked  by  megalomania;  someone  begins  to 
shout,  'We  will  conquer  China!'  and  his  cry  is 
taken  up  by  the  whole  town  and  the  whole  land. 
The  French  were  raving  when,  in  1870,  they  sang 
*A  Berlin,'  and  did  not  even  reach  the  Rhine. 
Paris  was  captured.  But  the  French  declared  it 
was  not  captured,  but  had  surrendered.  When 
the  enemy  had  marched  in  peaceably  and  spared 


164  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

the  town,  and  after  peace  was  concluded  the 
French  set  their  own  town  on  fire.  That  was 
madness.  Then  they  shot  down  thirty  thousand 
of  their  own  countrymen,  while  in  the  war  itself 
only  eighty  thousand  French  had  fallen. 

But  some  nations  are  seized  by  a  mania  for 
suicide.  I  know  a  land  from  which  people 
emigrate  at  the  rate  of  a  hundred  a  day;  in 
which  the  only  important  industry — iron-mining 
— is  hampered  by  an  export  duty;  that  is  suicide. 
In  the  same  land,  where  the  taxes  are  generally 
collected  by  levying  distraints,  they  voted  forty 
million  pounds  for  the  army ;  but  when  the  muster- 
rolls  came  to  be  made  up,  the  men  were  not  to 
be  found.  In  the  same  country  the  State  main- 
tains a  railway  of  a  hundred  miles  in  length; 
recently  the  train  came  in  with  one  passenger, 
whose  journey  had  cost  the  State  more  than  a 
thousand  kronas.     That  is  suicide. " 

The  Poison  of  Lies. — The  teacher  said:  "Let 
us  return  to  life,  and  to  men  whom  we  think  we 
know  better  than  anything  else,  although  self- 
knowledge  is  the  hardest  of  all.  A  perpetual 
accusation  which  people  bring  against  each  other 
is  that  of  lying.  All  lie  more  or  less — by  omitting 
principal  points  and  emphasising  secondary  ones, 


THe  Poison  of  Lies  165 

or  by  colouring  matters  of  fact.  Often  they  do  it 
with  an  excusable  purpose;  for  instance,  when  a 
friend  is  being  spoken  about. 

"But  there  are  men  who  seem  to  be  composed 
of  falsehood  and  deceit.  Such  are  the  liars  from 
necessity,  who  lie  in  order  to  obtain  something; 
such,  too,  are  the  liars  from  ostentation,  who  lie 
in  order  to  be  superior  to  others,  and  to  keep  them 
down.  One  may  be  poisoned  in  the  atmosphere 
which  they  spread  around  them. 

"There  is  a  pair  of  liars  whom  I  have  never 
seen,  but  often  heard  spoken  about.  When  I 
merely  hear  about  them  and  their  falsehoods,  I 
feel  my  brain  affected,  and  their  poison  works 
telepathically  on  my  nerves.  The  pair  are  dogged 
by  misfortune,  and  live  alone.  They  tell  each 
other  lies  also,  and  pretend  to  themselves  that 
they  are  martyrs,  although  their  misfortunes  are 
solely  due  to  their  deceits.  They  believe  that  they 
are  persecuted  by  men,  while,  on  the  contrary, 
men  fly  from  them.  Such  they  have  been  since 
childhood,  and  seem  unable  to  change.  Perhaps 
their  mendacity  is  a  form  of  punishment,  for  '  they 
that  hate  the  righteous  shall  be  guilty.'" 

Murderous     Lies. — The     teacher     continued: 
When  one  lives  on  intimate  terms  with  liars,  one 


1 66  2Sones  of  tKe  Spirit 

runs  a  risk  of  becoming  a  liar  oneself.  One  believes 
what  they  say,  bases  his  views  on  their  falsehoods, 
spreads  their  false  reports  in  good  faith,  defends 
their  sophistries,  and  is  entangled  in  their  deceits. 
Moreover,  one's  whole  view  of  life  is  distorted, 
one  loses  contact  with  reality,  lives  in  a  fictitious 
world  of  feeling,  regards  friends  as  foes  and  foes 
as  friends,  thinks  one  is  loved  while  one  is  hated, 
and  vice  versa. 

"On  one  occasion  a  liar  with  whom  I  lived 
on  intimate  terms  made  me  think  that  my  last 
book  had  been  a  failure.  For  five  years  I  believed 
it,  suffered  under  the  belief,  and  lost  my  courage. 
On  my  return  to  vSweden  I  found  that  the  book 
had  had  a  great  success.  Five  years  had  been 
struck  out  of  my  life;  I  was  nearly  losing  self- 
respect  and  the  courage  to  support  existence. 
That  is  equivalent  to  murder.  And  this  be- 
haviour on  the  part  of  my  only  friend,  for 
whom  I  had  worked  and  made  sacrifices,  gave 
me  such  a  shock  that  all  my  ideas  were  con- 
fused. It  took  me  years  to  rearrange  them 
and  bring  them  into  proper  order.  True  and 
false  were  mingled  together:  lies  became  reality, 
and  my  whole  life  seemed  as  imsubstantial  as 
smoke.  I  was  not  far  from  ruin  and  the  loss  of 
reason." 


Innocent  Guilt  167 

Innocent  Guilt. — The  teacher  continued :  ' '  Dur- 
ing the  five  years  in  which  I  beHeved  myself 
unjustly  treated,  I  also  incurred  guilt.  I  had 
cursed  those  who  had  been  just  towards  me,  wished 
evil  to  my  benefactors,  repelled  my  admirers, 
avoided  my  adherents.  And  when  I  should  now 
have  felt  remorse  for  it,  I  could  not  do  so  sincerely. 
On  the  one  hand  I  felt  myself  innocent,  and  almost 
the  victim  of  another's  falsehood.  But  the  evil 
which  I  had  done  was  there,  and  must  be  atoned 
for.  Such  tangles  are  not  easy  to  undo.  Yet  it 
is  not  good  in  life  to  show  mistrust  towards  men; 
one  must  take  things  easily,  without  criticism  and 
too  carefiil  reckoning.  The  deceiver  says,  to  be 
sure,  '  He  who  does  not  keep  a  sharp  look-out,  has 
himself  to  blame  if  he  is  cheated. '  But  if  one  does 
look  out,  and  will  not  let  oneself  be  cheated,  one 
is  credited  with  a  morbid  mistrustfulness.  It  is 
not  easy  to  live,  and  among  lawless  men  it  is 
better  to  be  cheated  than  to  cheat.  The  Talmud 
says :  *  Be  rather  among  those  who  are  cursed  than 
those  who  curse;  rather  among  the  persecuted 
than  the  persecutors:  read  in  the  Scripture,  No 
bird  is  more  persecuted  than  the  dove;  yet  God 
has  chosen  it  for  a  sacrifice  on  His  altar. 

The   Charm  of  Old  Age. — The  teacher  said: 


i68  i^ones  of  tKe  Spirit 

"The  charms  of  old  age  are  many.  The  greatest 
is  the  consciousness  that  it  is  not  long  till  evening 
when  one  can  undress  and  lie  down,  without  the 
necessity  of  rising  up  and  dressing  again.  The 
diminution  of  the  body's  strength  lessens  its  re- 
sistance to  the  free  motions  of  the  soul.  One's 
interest  in  merely  temporal  matters  decreases, 
and  one  begins  to  take  a  bird's-eye  view  of  things. 
Seemingly  important  trifles  shrink  to  insignifi- 
cance. Old  estimates  of  the  values  of  things  are 
changed.  All  that  one  has  experienced  lies  like 
a  litter  of  straw  under  one's  feet;  one  stands  in 
it  and  grows  in  the  midst  of  one's  past.  We 
have  found  a  constant  amid  all  variables,  that  is, 
the  instability  of  life,  the  transitoriness  and  muta- 
bility of  all  things.  Everything  is  repeated;  there 
are  scarcely  any  surprises.  We  know  everything 
beforehand,  expect  no  improvement,  are  no  more 
deceived  by  false  hopes,  demand  nothing  more  of 
men,  neither  gratitude,  nor  faithfulness,  nor  love, 
only  some  companionship  in  solitude.  If  we  are 
deceived,  we  think  it  is  part  of  the  play,  and  even 
find  a  sort  of  consolation  in  it,  because  it  confirms 
our  views,  which  we  do  not  like  to  see  refuted. 
We  become,  finally,  cheerful  pessimists.  When, 
on  the  discovery  of  a  new  cheat,  we  can  say,  'What 
did  I  tell  you?'  we  feel  almost  a  sense  of  pleasure. " 


THe  IVin^-System  169 

The  Ring-System.— The  teacher  said :  "In  our 
old  schools,  the  pupils  were  arranged  not  in  classes, 
but  in  rings,  and  the  forms  were  not  placed  in 
rows,  but  in  circles.  When  I  read  of  the  circles  of 
Dante's  hell,  I  thought  of  my  old  school.  But  out- 
side in  life,  I  found  this  ring-system  also.  Men 
seemed  linked  together  in  concentric  circles,  each 
of  which  formed  a  little  system  of  views.  Each 
circle  spoke  its  own  language,  expressed  its  mean- 
ing in  old  formulas,  revered  its  gods,  created  its 
great  men,  often  out  of  nothing.  In  each  circle 
they  had  found  the  truth,  and  worked  for  develop" 
ment,  but  in  a  different  way  to  the  others.  The 
first  circle  was  really  the  lowest,  but  it  considered 
itself  the  most  important,  because  it  was  the  first. 
When  I  read  a  paper  or  a  book  which  comes  from 
other  circles  than  mine,  I  only  see  so  much — that 
they  are  mad  or  stand  on  their  heads.  It  stifles 
me,  and  has  a  hostile  effect.  I  surmise  that  the 
five  great  races  of  the  earth  feel  that,  when  they 
meet  one  another.  In  their  minds  they  are  as 
foreign  to  each  other  as  though  they  came  from 
the  five  great  planets,  although  they  have  many 
human  characteristics  in  common." 

Lust,  Hate,  and  Fear,  or  the  ReUgion  of  the 
Heathen. — The  teacher  said:     "You  know  one  of 


I70  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

my  tasks  in  life  has  been  to  unmask  gyneolatry, 
the  worship  of  women  in  history  and  Hfe.  I  have 
called  it  '  the  superstition  of  the  heathen, '  because 
there  is  something  exclusively  heathenish  about 
it.  Woman-worship  is  the  religion  of  the  heathen, 
but  it  is  a  religion  of  fear,  which  has  nothing  to 
do  with  love.  Lust,  hate,  and  fear  — those  are 
the  component  parts  of  it.  As  soon  as  a  heathen 
comes  in  the  proximity  of  a  woman,  he  becomes 
tame  and  cowardly;  faithless  towards  his  friends, 
his  convictions,  and  himself.  He  immediately  de- 
sires that  others  should  venerate  his  idol  whom 
he  hates  and  fears.  That  is  a  side  of  his  animal 
self-love. 

"Gyneolatry  is  not  Christian  in  its  origin,  but 
heathenish.  All  animals  and  savage  races  fear 
their  women.  When  heathenism  in  the  Graeco- 
Roman  and  Moorish  colonies  of  southern  France 
and  Italy  got  the  upper  hand,  then  began  gyneo- 
latry, the  worship  of  mistresses.  This  worship 
was  dishonestly  confounded  with  chivalrous  rever- 
ence for  the  Madonna,  which  was  quite  another 
thing.  This  religion  of  the  heathen  is  the  religion 
of  fear  and  concealed  hatred.  Therefore  all  ty- 
rants have  been  punished  by  having  a  woman 
oppress  and  torment  them.  Swedenborg  explains 
the  reason. " 


"WKom  the  Gods  Wish  to  Destroy**   171 

"Whom  the   Gods  Wish  to   Destroy."— The 

teacher  continued:  "A  man's  goodwill  and  gener- 
osity towards  his  wife  stands  in  direct  relation 
to  her  behaviour.  When  therefore  a  woman  is 
ill-treated  by  her  husband,  we  know  of  what  sort 
she  is.  The  apparently  subordinate  position 
which  the  woman  occupies  is  the  direct  result  of 
the  position  which  nature  has  assigned  to  this 
immature  transition-form  between  child  and  man. 
The  child  has  also  a  subordinate  position;  that 
is  quite  natural,  and  no  reasonable  man  has 
objected  to  it.  Woman  is  the  earth-spirit  who 
effectuates  a  certain  harmony  with  the  earth- 
life.  To  this  earth-life  we  must  bring  our  sac- 
rifice; therefore  it  is  that  a  man  feels  at  home 
in  his  house,  and  therefore  wife  and  child  com- 
fort and  protect  us  against  the  cold  abstraction, 
Hfe. 

"Marriage  is  the  hardest  school  in  which 
renimciation  and  self -conquest  is  learned;  it 
is  also  a  forcing-house  for  wickedness  of  all 
kinds,  especially  the  hellish  sin  of  imperious- 
ness.  How  low  the  sons  of  the  Lord  of  Dung 
stand  on  the  ladder  of  development  may  be  seen 
from  their  conviction  that  they  are  only  equal 
to  the  woman  or  subordinate  to  her.  Blinded 
by  this  penal  hallucination,  they  work  for  their 


172  T^ones  of  tHe  Spirit 

own  destruction  when  they  battle  for  the  eman- 
cipation of  women,  for  the  gods  wish  to  destroy 
them. 

The  Slavery  of  the  Prophet.— "  Stuart  Mill,  who 
became  the  prophet  of  the  woman's  cause,  had 
formed  an  attachment  for  another  man's  wife. ' 
As  a  punishment  he  had  to  live  in  the  hallucina- 
tion that  he  derived  all  his  thoughts  from  her. 
She  was  indeed  his  medium,  and  as  such  she 
repeated  his  thoughts  as  though  they  came  from 
her,  and  he  believed  she  was  his  superior.  When 
somebody  asked  if  he  had  received  his  'Logic,' 
which  he  wrote  before  he  knew  her,  also  from  her, 
he  answered,  'Yes.'  This  sober  Positivist,  who 
only  believed  in  tables  of  statistics,  was  obsessed 
by  the  powerful  delusion  that  the  simple-minded 
woman  was  his  Genius.  He  could  not  rise  to  a 
higher  idea  of  God.  One  thing  I  am  sure  of:  as 
soon  as  a  man  deserts  God,  he  becomes  the  thrall 
of  a  female  devil.  All  tyrants,  above  and  below, 
are  caught  in  these  chains,  out  of  which  only  God 
in  heaven  can  help  a  man.  But  He  can  certainly. 
One  sees  it  in  those  who  have  come  alive  out  of  this 
hell.     I  know  one  .    .    .  " 

"I  know  two!"  the  pupil  interrupted. 

» Mrs.  Taylor. 


-Absvird  Problems  173 

Absurd  Problems. — The  teacher  continued: 
"There  are  several  reasons  why  woman  is  depicted 
as  a  sphinx  by  men.  She  is  incomprehensible 
because  her  soul  is  rudimentary,  and  she  thinks 
with  her  body.  Her  judgments  are  dictated  by 
interests  and  passions,  she  draws  conclusions  ac- 
cording to  the  state  of  the  weather  and  the  phases 
of  the  moon.  She  will  sell  her  best  friend  for  a 
theatre-ticket,  or  leave  her  sick  child  to  see  a  bal- 
loon ascend.  She  murders  her  husband  in  order 
to  be  able  to  go  to  a  bathing-resort,  and  forswears 
her  religion  for  a  diamond  ring.  At  the  same  time 
she  can  appear  to  be  a  charming  woman,  ten- 
der towards  her  children,  amiable,  and  before  all 
things  polite  and  affable.  She  may  also  appear  a 
good  household  manager,  or  at  any  rate  enjoy  the 
reputation  of  being  one.  She  can  produce  the 
illusion  that  she  is  quick  at  apprehension,  although 
she  does  not  really  understand  a  word.  She  can 
exhibit  sacrifices  which  are  only  ostentation,  and 
give  away  only  in  order  to  receive  back.  Why 
cannot  one  guess  the  riddle  of  this  sphinx?  Be- 
cause there  is  no  riddle  there!  Why  is  woman 
incomprehensible?  Because  the  problem  is  absurd. 
She  is  an  irrational  function  because  she  operates 
with  variable  quantities  under  the  radical  signs. 

"Nevertheless    we    take    her    as    a    charming 


174  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

actuality,  a  delightful  child  who  may  pull  three 
hairs  out  of  our  beard;  but  if  it  pulls  the  fourth, 
there  is  an  end  to  the  enchantment." 

The  Crooked  Rib. — The  teacher  said:  " Goethe 
says  in  his  Divan, "  '  Woman  is  fashioned  out  of  a 
crooked  rib ;  if  one  tries  to  bend  her,  she  breaks ;  if 
one  lets  her  alone,  she  becomes  still  more  crooked.' 
Thus  there  is  nothing  to  be  done.  The  only  tactics 
one  can  adopt,  as  Napoleon  did,  are  flight,  or  at 
any  rate  to  break  off  contact  and  intimacy.  .This 
never  fails ;  if  one  deprives  a  woman  of  the  victim 
of  her  hatred,  she  pines  away. 

"Man  loves  and  woman  hates;  man  gives  and 
woman  takes ;  man  sacrifices  and  woman  devours. 
When  the  woman  wishes  to  show  her  superiority 
in  intellect,  she  commits  a  rascality.  Her  utmost 
endeavour  is  to  deceive  her  husband.  If  she  can 
trick  him  into  eating  horse-flesh  without  noticing 
it,  she  is  happy.  When  woman  gets  her  milk- 
teeth,  she  does  not  learn  to  speak  but  to  lie,  for 
speech  and  falsehood  are  synonymous  for  her. 
Every  married  man  knows  all  that.  But  polite- 
ness and  his  own  vanity  keep  him  silent.  Often 
he  is  silent  because  of  his  children;  often  because 
he  is  ashamed  in  the  name  of  humanity.     He 

'  The  saying  is  originally  Muhammed's. 


'White  Slavery  I75 

thinks  how  often  one  has  drunk  the  toasts  of 
mother,  wife,  sister,  daughter — these  fictions  in  a 
world  of  deceit,  where  all  is  vanity  of  vanities. 
But  many  men  are  silent  because  they  are  afraid 
of  being  called  '  woman-haters. '    They  are  afraid ! ' ' 

White  Slavery.— The  teacher  said:  "In  the 
whole  of  the  upper  and  middle  classes  and  a  good 
way  below  them  the  following  is  the  case  with 
regard  to  marriage:  When  a  man  marries,  his 
work,  which  he  can  devolve  on  no  one  else,  in- 
creases. His  wife,  on  the  other  hand,  at  once  gets 
a  servant  to  do  her  work ;  if  she  has  children,  then 
she  gets  a  nurse  besides.  But  she  herself  sits 
there  without  occupation,  and  tries  to  kill  time 
with  useless  trivialities.  In  this  way  she  can 
neither  get  an  appetite  for  dinner,  nor  sleep  at 
night.  In  the  evening  her  husband  comes  home, 
and  wants  to  enjoy  the  domestic  hearth;  but  his 
wife  wants  to  go  to  the  theatre  and  restaurant. 
She  is  not  tired,  but  bored  by  want  of  occupation, 
and  therefore  wants  amusement.  Women,  in  fact, 
seem  not  to  be  bom  for  domestic  life,  but  for  the 
theatre,  the  restaurant,  and  the  street.  Therefore 
women  complain  that  they  must  sit  at  home. 
Although  they  have  slaves  to  serve  them,  they 
call  themselves  'slaves'  and  hold  meetings  to  dis- 


176  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

cuss  their  own  emancipation,  but  not  that  of  their 
servants.  Their  animaHsed  husbands  support 
them  without  observing  that  they  themselves  are 
slaves;  for  he  who  works  for  the  idle  is  a  slave. 
But  it  is  written,  'Ye  are  bought  with  a  price; 
be  slaves  to  no  man.  * " 

Noodles. — The  pupil  asked :  "What  is  a  woman- 
hater?" 

The  teacher  answered:  "I  do  not  know.  But 
the  expression  is  used  as  a  term  of  reproach  by 
noodles,  for  those  who  say  what  all  think.  Noodles 
are  those  men  who  cannot  come  near  a  woman 
without  losing  their  heads  and  becoming  faithless. 
They  purchase  the  woman's  favour  by  delivering 
up  the  heads  of  their  friends  on  silver  chargers; 
and  they  absorb  so  much  femininity,  that  they  see 
with  feminine  eyes  and  feel  with  feminine  feelings. 
There  are  things  which  one  does  not  say  every  day, 
and  one  does  not  tell  one's  wife  what  her  sex  is 
composed  of.  But  one  has  the  right  to  put  it  on 
paper  sometimes.  Schopenhauer  has  done  it  the 
best,  Nietzsche  not  badly,  Peladan  is  the  master. 
Thackeray  wrote  Men's  Wives  but  the  book  was 
ignored.  Balzac  has  unmasked  Caroline  in  the 
Petites  Miseres  de  la  vie  Conjugate.  Otto  Wein- 
inger  discovered  the  deceit  at  the  age  of  twenty; 


Inextricable  Oonfxisioxi  177 

he  did  not  wait  for  the  consequent  vengeance,  but 
went  his  own  way,  i.  e.  died.  I  have  said  that  the 
child  is  a  Httle  criminal,  incapable  of  self-guidance, 
but  I  love  children  all  the  same.  I  have  said  that 
a  woman  is — what  she  is,  but  I  have  always  loved 
some  woman,  and  been  a  father.  Whoever  there- 
fore calls  me  a  woman-hater  is  a  blockhead,  a  liar, 
or  a  noodle.     Or  all  three  together." 

Inextricable  Confusion. — The  teacher  continued : 
"If  on  the  other  side  of  the  grave  there  were  a 
Judge  Rhadamanthus  appointed  to  arrange  the 
disputes  of  men,  he  would  never  come  to  an  end. 
Life  is  such  a  tissue  of  lies,  errors,  misunderstand- 
ings, of  debts  and  demands,  that  a  balancing  of  the 
books  is  impossible.  I  know  men  who  have  been 
lied  about  their  whole  lives  through.  I  know  of 
one  who  was  branded  through  his  whole  life  with 
the  stigma  of  a  seducer,  although  he  has  never 
seduced,  but  was  seduced  himself.  I  know  of 
an  uncommonly  truthful  man  who  had  the  reputa- 
tion of  being  a  liar.  I  know  an  honourable  man 
who  passed  for  a  thief.  I  know  a  man  who  was 
three  times  married,  and  had  children  in  all  three 
marriages,  but  was  said  to  be  no  man,  because  he, 
as  a  man,  would  not  be  the  slave  of  his  wife.  I 
know  many  who  are  sincerely  religious  and  yet 


12 


178  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

are  called  hypocrites,  although  the  chief  point  in 
religion  is  sincerity.  But,  on  the  other  hand,  I 
know  heathen  who  professed  to  be  atheists, 
although  in  their  bedchambers  they  sang  peni- 
tential psalms  when  they  were  nervous  in  the  dark 
and  feared  the  consequences  of  their  misdeeds. 
They  were  so  cowardly  that  they  dared  not  fall 
under  the  suspicion  of  being  religious,  but  bragged 
of  their  courage  and  strength  of  character.  They 
would  not  abandon  the  Black  Flag;  they  would 
not  be  untrue  to  the  ideal  of  their  youth — godless- 
ness.  Rascally  right  and  good-hearted  stupidity 
form  a  problem  too  complicated  for  Rhadamanthus 
himself  to  solve.  Only  the  Crucified  could  do  it 
with  the  single  saying  which  He  addressed  to  the 
penitent  thief,  *  To-day  shalt  thou  be  with  Me  in 
Paradise.'" 

Phantoms. — The  teacher  said:  "When  intel- 
ligence and  the  power  of  reflection  are  matured, 
and  one  thinks  about  men,  their  outlines  begin  to 
dissolve,  and  they  turn  into  phantoms.  Indeed, 
one  never  really  knows  a  man;  one  knows  only 
his  own,  or  others'  ideas  of  him,  but  when  these 
ideas  change,  the  image  of  him  becomes  indistinct 
and  is  obscured  with  a  veil.  We  form  our  con- 
ception of  a  person   whom   we  have  never  seen 


Mirage  Pictures  179 

according  to  others'  ideas  of  him.  Thus,  for 
example,  the  personality  of  a  famous  painter  was 
described  to  me  by  an  author.  After  two  years 
the  author  had  formed  another  idea  of  him,  and 
imparted  that  to  me,  and  I  had  to  alter  my  view 
of  him.  Then  there  came  another  describer,  and 
gave  me  quite  a  different  idea  of  the  painter.  He 
was  followed  by  a  third  and  a  fourth.  After  this 
I  saw  the  painter's  pictures,  and  could  not  under- 
stand how  he  could  paint  in  the  way  he  did.  But 
the  painter  himself  I  never  saw.  He  has  become 
for  me  a  phantom  without  clear  outlines,  composed 
of  different-coloured  pieces  of  glass,  which  do  not 
harmonise,  and  alter  according  to  my  moods.  I 
expect  that  when  I  meet  him  he  will  not  resemble 
my  idea  of  him  at  all,  but  have  the  effect  of  qmte 
another  independent  phantom." 

Mirage  Pictures. — The  teacher  said:  "When  I 
have  lived  for  some  time  in  solitude  my  acquaint- 
ances begin  to  appear  like  mirage-pictures  before 
me.  Some  gain  by  distance,  occasion  only  friendly 
feelings,  and  are  surrounded  by  an  atmosphere  of 
light  and  peace.  Others  whom  I  really  like  very 
well  when  they  are  near,  lose  by  absence,  and 
appear  to  be  hostile.  Thus  I  may  hate  a  friend 
in  his  absence,  look  upon  him  as  unpleasant  and 


l8o  2^ones  of  tHe  Spirit 

inimical,  but  as  soon  as  he  comes,  enter  into 
friendly  contact  with  him.  There  is  a  woman 
whose  proximity  I  cannot  bear,  but  whom  I  love 
at  a  distance.  We  write  letters  to  each  full  of 
regard  and  friendliness.  When  we  have  longed 
for  each  other  for  a  time  and  must  meet,  we  imme- 
diately begin  to  quarrel,  become  vulgar  and  unsym- 
pathetic, and  part  in  anger.  We  love  each  other 
on  a  higher  plane,  but  cannot  live  in  the  same  room. 
We  dream  of  meeting  again,  spiritualised,  on  some 
green  island,  where  only  we  two  can  live,  or,  at  any 
rate,  only  our  child  with  us.  I  remember  a  half- 
hour  which  we  three  actually  spent  hand  in  hand 
on  a  green  island  by  the  sea-coast.  It  seemed  to 
me  like  heaven.  Then  the  clocks  struck  the  hour 
of  noon,  and  we  were  back  again  on  earth,  and  soon 
after  that,  in  hell." 

Trifle  not  with  Love. — The  pupil  said :  "When 
a  man  and  a  woman  are  united  in  love,  a  single 
being  is  the  result,  whose  existence  is  a  positive 
pleasure,  as  long  as  harmony  reigns.  But  this 
being  is  an  extremely  sensitive  receptive  instru- 
ment, and  is  exposed  to  disturbances  from  outer 
currents  which  act  from  all  distances,  an  incon- 
venience which  it  shares  with  wireless  telegraphy. 
Therefore  a  disturbance  of  the  relationship  between 


A  " Taking' "  Religion  i8i 

a  married  pair  is  the  greatest  pain  which  exists. 
Unfaithfulness  is  a  cosmic  crime  which  brings  the 
one  or  the  other  member  of  the  married  pair  into 
perverse  relations  with  their  own  sex.  If  the  hus- 
band loves  another  woman,  his  wife  is  exposed  to. 
terrible  alternate  currents ;  by  turns  she  loves  and 
hates  the  woman  who  is  her  rival.  Often  she  can 
be  the  friend  of  her  husband's  paramour,  but  more 
often  her  enemy.  Whoever  comes  between  a  pair 
who  love,  does  not  so  with  impunity.  The  hate 
which  he  arouses  is  so  terrible,  that  he  can  be  lamed 
by  the  discharge,  lose  all  energy  and  pleasure  in 
life.  Therefore  it  is  rightly  said,  'Trifle  not  with 
love.'" 

A  "  Taking  "  ReUgion.— The  pupil  said :  ' '  When 
Buddhism,  mixed  with  Vedantism,  became  fash- 
ionable in  1890,  all  the  renegades  from  Christianity 
flocked  to  it  and  tried  to  fill  the  vacuum  in  their 
religious  lives.  Six  thousand  new  gods  were 
received  with  applause  forthwith;  the  new  trinity 
■ — Brahma,  Vishnu,  Siva — encountered  no  objec- 
tions; spirits,  ghosts,  genies,  fairies  were  thought 
quite  natural;  Guatama's  heaven  and  hell  were 
thrown  into  the  bargain,  accompanied  by  a  slight 
flavour  of  asceticism.  Those  who  denied  the 
Resurrection  found  reincarnation  quite  a  simple 


1 82  2Sones  of  tKe  Spirit 

affair.  But  the  favourite  was  Krishna.  He  was 
the  incarnation  of  the  god  Vishnu,  who  descended 
to  earth  in  order  to  be  bom  of  earthly  parents  and 
to  save  fallen  humanity.  His  coming  was  pro- 
phesied, and  so  dreaded  that  a  massacre  of  new- 
bom  infants  like  that  at  Bethlehem  was  plotted, 
but  unsuccessfully.  Krishna  fulfilled  his  mission, 
conquered  the  evil  powers,  and  finally  endured 
a  voluntary  death.  That  'took'!  The  trinity 
Brahma,  Vishnu,  Siva  '  took, '  but  Father,  Son, 
Holy  Spirit  did  not  'take.'  Krishna  'took,'  but 
not  Christ.     It  was  strange!" 

The  Sixth  Sense. — The  pupil  continued :  ' '  The 
outer  eye  can  reflect  images,  the  inner  eye  can 
conceive  them.  There  are  therefore  two  kinds 
of  sight,  an  outer  and  an  inner.  Of  the  senses,  that 
of  smell  is  the  most  immediate  when  it  has  to  do 
with  the  conveyance  of  impressions.  But  there 
seem  also  to  be  two  kinds  of  faculties  of  smell. 
Swedenborg  says  that  a  false  man  smells  of  sour 
gastric  juice,  but  only  for  the  person  to  whom  he 
has  been  false.  In  this  case  the  smell-perception 
is  only  subjective,  but  it  is  of  great  objective  value 
in  judging  men.  In  this  case  the  organ  of  smell 
seems  to  operate  with  aether-waves.  According 
to  Swedenborg's  doctrine  of  correspondences,  good 


TKe  SixtK  Sense  183 

men  exhale  sweet  perfume,  and  bad  men  a  stench 
like  that  of  corpses.  He  says  that  misers  smell 
like  rats,  and  so  on.  Legends  of  the  saints  relate 
that  the  corpses  of  those  who  have  kept  their 
soiils  and  bodies  pure,  when  they  dissolve,  exhale 
a  flower-like  perfume.  In  short,  every  soul  has  its 
scent,  which  varies  according  to  its  characteristics. 
"This  sixth  sense  the  clothes-hygienist  Jager 
believed  he  had  discovered  after  he  had  begun  to 
observe  and  train  his  outer  and  inner  man.  I 
will  speak  now  of  my  own  experiences  in  the 
matter.  They  did  not  begin  till  I  had  passed 
through  the  great  purgatorial  fire  which  burnt 
up  the  rubbish  of  my  soul,  and  after  I  had  scram- 
bled out  of  the  worst  of  the  mire  by  self-discipline 
and  asceticism.  They  are  accustomed  to  boil 
off  the  gum  from  raw  silk  before  it  is  spun,  and  so 
my  nerve-fibres  seemed  to  have  been  'scoured' 
by  the  sufferings  of  life,  and  gone  through  a  pro- 
cess like  the  'fining'  of  silk." 

Exteriorisation  of  Sensibility. — The  pupil  con- 
tinued: "I  happened  once,  when  watching  a  spider 
in  a  web,  to  see  her  'exteriorise  her  sensibility, '  or 
in  other  words  reel  out  a  nerve-substance  for  her- 
self with  which  she  remains  in  touch,  and  by  means 
of  which  she  becomes  aware  when  flies  come  and 


184  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

when  the  weather  changes.  Raspail,  who  in  his 
masterly  works  has  cast  many  a  far-reaching  glance 
behind  the  curtains  of  nature,  has  in  one  place 
philosophised  over  the  spider's  web.  In  other 
works  dealing  with  transcendent  natural  sciences, 
one  finds  the  doubt  expressed  whether  the  object 
of  the  spider's  web  is  only  to  be  a  fly-trap.  I 
myself  have  counted  four  and  twenty  radii  in 
the  web  of  the  garden-spider  resembling  an  hour- 
circle,  and  have  asked  myself  whether,  besides 
being  a  barometer  and  trap,  the  web  is  also  a  kind 
of  clock. 

"Now  it  seems  as  though  I  had  myself  in  a 
similar  manner  exteriorised  my  sensibility.  I  feel 
at  a  distance  when  anyone  interferes  with  my 
destiny,  when  enemies  threaten  my  personal 
existence,  and  also  when  people  speak  well  of  me 
or  wish  me  well.  I  feel  in  the  street  whether 
those  I  meet  are  friends  or  foes;  I  have  felt  the 
pain  of  an  operation  undergone  by  a  man  to  whom 
I  was  fairly  indifferent;  twice  I  have  shared  the 
death-agonies  of  others  with  the  accompanying 
corporeal  and  psychical  sufferings.  The  last  time 
I  went  through  three  illnesses  in  six  hours,  and 
when  the  absent  person  with  whom  I  suffered  was 
liberated  by  death,  I  rose  up  well.  This  makes 
life  painful,  but  rich  and  interesting. " 


TelepatHic  Perception  185 

Telepathic  Perception.— -The  pupil  said :  "While 
I  lived  in  the  most  intimate  relations  with  a  woman, 
I  arrived,  like  Gustav  Jager,  at  'the  discovery  of 
the  soul.'  I  was  always  in  communication  with 
her,  often  through  obsciu-e  sensations,  but  very 
often  through  the  sense  of  smell;  these  were  sub- 
jective however,  as  other  people  were  not  aware 
of  them.  When  she  was  travelling  I  knew  whether 
she  was  in  a  steamer  or  on  a  train;  I  could  dis- 
tinguish the  revolutions  of  the  screw  from  the 
vibration  of  the  railway  carriage  and  the  puffing 
of  the  engine.  She  used  to  make  her  presence 
felt  by  me  at  a  certain  hour  of  the  day,  i.  e.  five 
o'clock  in  the  morning.  Once,  when  she  was  in 
Paris,  this  time  changed  to  four  o'clock.  When 
I  consulted  the  table  of  time  variations,  I  found 
that  it  was  four  o'clock  in  Paris  when  it  was  five 
o'clock  with  me.  Another  time  she  was  in  St. 
Petersburg,  then  our  meeting  took  place  an  hour 
later;  that  also  agreed  with  the  time-table.  When 
she  hated  me,  I  was  conscious  of  a  smell  and  taste 
like  that  of  mortalin;  this  happened  one  night  so 
distinctly  that  I  had  to  rise  and  open  the  window. 
When  she  thought  kindly  of  me,  I  perceived  a  smell 
of  incense  and  often  of  jasmine,  but  these  scents 
sometimes  changed  into  sensations  of  taste. 
When  she  was  in  society  without  me  I  felt  that  she 


l86  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

was  away,  and  when  the  conversation  turned  on 
me  I  was  aware  whether  they  were  speaking  good 
or  ill  about  me." 

Morse  Telepathy. — The  pupil  continued:  "I 
was  spending  one  evening  at  home  alone ;  I  did  not 
know  where  she  was,  but  had  the  feeling  that  she 
was  lost  to  me.  At  10.40  p.m.  I  was  aware  of  a 
passing  breath  of  perfume.  Then  I  said  to  my- 
self, 'She  has  been  in  the  theatre!  But  in  which?' 
I  took  the  daily  paper,  read  the  theatre  advertise- 
ments, and  found  that  one  theatre  closed  at  10.40. 
Further  inquiry  proved  that  my  surmise  was  right. 

"On  another  occasion  when  in  com.pany  I  broke 
off  a  lively  conversation  with  a  smile.  'What 
are  you  smiling  at? '  'Just  now  the  train  from  the 
south  entered  the  terminus. '  Another  time  under 
similar  circumstances  I  said:  'Now  the  curtain 
falls  on  the  last  act  in  Helsingfors!'  and  I  heard 
the  applause  which  greeted  the  prima  donna 
who  had  played  in  my  piece.  The  conversation 
of  the  people  in  the  restaurant  after  the  conclusion 
of  the  piece  sounded  like  ringing  in  my  ears.  I 
can  hear  that  as  far  as  from  Germany  when  a 
prima  donna  is  acting  in  one  of  my  pieces  there, 
although  I  do  not  know  beforehand  that  it  is 
going  to  be  played.     One  evening  I  had  gone  to 


Nisus  Formativus  187 

bed  about  half-past  nine,  and  was  awoken  about 
half -past  eleven  by  a  smell  of  punch  and  tobacco 
and  in  the  impression  that  two  of  my  acquaintances 
in  a  cafe  were  talking  about  me.  I  had  every 
reason  to  believe  that  I  had  been  present  there  in 
some  way  or  another,  but  I  was  so  accustomed 
to  this  phenomenon  that  this  time  I  did  not  test 
it.  Flammarion  gives  a  hundred  such  cases  in 
his  book  The  Unknown.'' 

Nisus  Formativus,  or  Unconscious  Sculpture. — 

The  pupil  continued:  "Once  I  signed  a  contract 
with  a  merchant.  After  sleeping  the  night  over 
it,  I  noticed  that  he  had  cheated  me.  With 
angry  thoughts  I  went  out  for  my  morning  stroll. 
When  I  came  back  I  wished  to  change  my  clothes, 
and  threw  my  handkerchief  on  the  table.  After 
I  had  undressed  myself  I  noticed  that  the  handker- 
chief had  been  crumpled  together  by  my  nervous 
clutch,  and  now,  where  it  lay,  formed  a  cast  of 
the  merchant's  head,  like  a  plaster-of- Paris  bust. 
The  question  arises:  Had  my  hand  unconsciously 
formed  an  image  of  my  thoughts?  Linen  is  a  very 
plastic  material,  and  one  often  finds  excellent 
pieces  of  *  sculpture '  in  handkerchiefs,  sheets,  and 
cushions.  When  a  married  man  comes  home  with 
his  wife  from  a  ball,  he  should  look  at  the  handker- 


l88  2Sones  of  tHe  Spirit 

chief  which  she  has  held  the  whole  evening  in  her 
hand,  and  then  perhaps  he  might  see  with  whom 
she  perferred  most  to  dance. 

"In  India  a  Buddhist  priest  is  said  to  represent 
the  208  incarnations  of  Vishnu  by  putting  his 
hand  in  a  linen  bag,  and  moulding  rapidly  from 
within  the  linen  of  the  bag  into  the  shapes  of 
an  elephant,  tortoise,  etc.  When  St.  Veronica's 
napkin  retained  the  impress  of  Christ's  face,  that 
is  not  more  improbable  than  that  my  pillow  in 
the  morning  should  show  the  impress  of  faces 
which  are  not  like  mine.  I  have  read  of  Indian 
vases  which  are  so  modelled  that  at  first  one  only 
sees  a  chaos  resembling  clouds,  twisted  entrails,  or 
the  convolutions  of  the  brain.  After  the  eye  has 
become  accustomed  to  this  the  confusion  begins 
to  be  disentangled;  all  kinds  of  objects  such  as 
plants  and  animals  emerge  in  clear  outline. 
Whether  all  observers  see  the  same  I  know  not. 
But  I  believe  that  the  moulder  of  the  vase  has 
worked  unintentionally  and  unconsciously." 

Projections. — The  pupil  continued:  "But  there 
are  also  projections  which  I  cannot  explain.  It 
is  possible  that  only  poets  and  artists  possess  the 
power  so  to  project  their  inward  images  in  every 
life  that  they  become  half  real.     It  is  quite  a  usual 


Projections  189 

occurrence  that  the  dying  show  themselves  to  their 
absent  friends.  Living  persons  can  also  appear 
at  a  distance,  but  only  to  those  who  keep  them 
in  their  thoughts.  I  used  to  show  my  initiated 
friends  the  following  phenomenon:  I  observed  a 
stranger  who  resembled  an  absent  acquaintance. 
As  soon  as  my  eye  completed  the  image,  what- 
ever unlikeness  remained  was  erased.  '  See,  there 
goes  X., '  I  said.  My  friends  saw  the  resemblance, 
understood  that  it  was  not  X.,  comprehended  my 
meaning,  and  agreed  with  me  without  further 
thought.  If  we  shortly  afterwards  met  X.  we 
were  astonished,  and  attempted  to  find  no  explana- 
tion in  face  of  the  inexplicable  latter  part  of  the 
phenomenon. 

"But  one  day  I  went  down  a  street  and  'saw* 
my  friend  Dr.  Y.  who  lived  fifty  miles  away.  It 
was  he,  and  yet  it  was  not  he.  It  was  the  same 
little  figure  although  somewhat  wavering  and  un- 
certain. The  grey-yellow  face  was  also  the  same 
although  almost  ghost-like,  with  deep  furrows 
which  followed  the  oval  lines  of  the  face,  and  with 
the  forced  laugh  of  suffering.  When  I  came  home 
I  read  in  the  paper  that  the  man  was  dead. " 

Apparitions. — The  pupil  continued:  "One  even- 
ing I  passed  a  well-known  theatre  while  a  perform- 


190  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

ance  was  going  on  inside.  There  was  no  one 
outside.  Suddenly  on  the  pavement  I  saw  an 
actor  who  had  died  thirty  years  previously,  after 
he  had  first  gone  crazy  with  vexation  because  he 
had  failed  as  an  actor  in  this  very  theatre.  His 
face,  like  that  of  my  deceased  friend  the  doctor's, 
was  lined  with  those  parallel  furrows  which  run 
from  the  forehead  to  the  jaw.  '  Was  it  he,  or  not?  * 
I  asked  myself,  and  left  the  question  open.  On 
another  occasion  I  was  travelling  by  rail  in  a 
foreign  country.  The  train  halted  at  a  station 
for  three  minutes.  On  the  platform  in  broad 
daylight  a  man  was  going  up  and  down  with  a 
paint-box  in  his  hand.  He  looked  nervous  and 
suffering  and  was  badly  dressed.  'That  is  he!* 
I  thought.  'How  has  he  got  here?  Why  has  he 
come  down  in  the  world?'  During  this  three 
minutes  I  suffered  all  the  tortures  of  uncertainty 
and  of  a  bad  conscience,  for  I  was  partly  to  blame 
for  his  misfortune  and  his  poverty.  The  train 
went  on,  and  I  have  never  discovered  whether  it 
were  really  he.     It  was  certainly  improbable. 

"Yet  another  time  I  was  travelling  by  rail.  At 
a  remote  station  a  man  came  into  my  compart- 
ment and  sat  opposite  me.  I  thought  he  was  an 
acquaintance,  but  he  looked  at  me  unrecognisingly. 
Then  I  let  my  eyes  fall.     Immediately  he  regarded 


XKe  Reactionary  Type  191 

me  with  an  Ironical  smile  which  I  again  recognised. 
*  It  is  he, '  I  thought,  '  but  he  will  not  greet  me. ' 
So  I  siiffered  for  some  hours.  My  conscience 
endured  all  that  I  owed  him.  Whether  it  really 
was  he  I  know  not,  but  the  effect  was  the  same. " 

The  Reactionary  Type. — The  teacher  said : "  Men 
seem  to  react  against  themselves  and  their  own 
bad  qualities  when  they  demand  from  others  what 
they  cannot  themselves  do.  A  man  who  is  full 
of  hate  demands  to  be  loved.  A  faithless  deceiver 
came  lately  to  me  and  finished  his  wily  talk  by 
saying,  *  All  I  ask  is  that  you  trust  me ! '  He  only 
asked  that  in  order  that  he  might  be  able  to  deceive 
me.  But  perhaps  he  trusted  me  more  than  him- 
self; he  did  not  know  himself,  but  had  an  inkling 
of  what  he  was.  Perhaps  he  felt  that  my  belief 
in  him  would  strengthen  and  elevate  him,  and 
might  possibly  neutralise  his  untrustworthiness. 
It  sounded  at  any  rate  very  naive,  and  I  felt 
myself  honoured  by  the  compliment. 

"Again,  a  spendthrift  who  had  no  means  of  his 
own  always  cautioned  me  to  be  frugal.  He  gave 
brilliant  parties,  but  when  he  came  to  me  he  only 
got  potatoes  and  herrings,  and  yet  he  thought  that 
was  beyond  my  means.  On  one  occasion  I  had 
bought  200  grammes  of  nickel-sulphate  for  my 


192  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

chemical  experiments.  They  cost  fifty- two  pence. 
The  spendthrift  came  to  visit  me,  looked  at  the 
sulphate,  and  exclaimed,  'Can  you  afford  it? 
Nickel-sulphate  which  is  so  dear.'  Fifty-two 
pence !  Then  he  invited  me  to  a  drive  in  a  carriage, 
and  a  meal  which  cost  fifty-two  kronas  for  an 
altogether  unproductive  purpose.  When  he  had 
to  pay  the  reckoning  he  suffered  torments.  Per- 
haps he  was  by  nature  a  skinflint,  who  had  yielded 
to  a  mania  for  extravagance  and  reacted  against 
it.  I  tried  to  explain  this  once  to  him,  as  on 
principle  I  wished  to  think  well  of  the  man. " 

The  Hate  of  Parasites. — The  teacher  continued : 
"There  are  men  who  are  spiritually  so  empty  that 
they  only  live  on  others.  I  have  an  acquaintance 
(when  one  is  over  fifty  one  does  not  ask  for  friends 
any  more)  who  constantly  visits  me  but  never  says 
anything.  Our  social  intercourse  consists  in  my 
speaking  alone.  When  he  leaves  me  after  several 
hours,  I  feel  as  if  I  had  been  undergoing  blood- 
letting. It  is  certainly  good  to  be  able  to  talk 
oneself  out  often,  but  one  would  often  like  to 
have  an  answer  to  one's  questions;  but  I  never 
get  an  answer,  not  even  to  a  question  in  his 
own  special  line.  I  can  only  remember  one 
expression  which  this  man  used,  and  that  was 


The  Hate  of  Parasites  I93 

extraordinarily  stupid.  Somebody  had  slandered 
me,  and  my  'acquaintance'  had  believed  every 
word  and  painted  my  figure  in  false  colours. 
Finally  one  evening  I  defended  myself,  and 
proved  that  my  slanderer  was  not  in  his  right 
senses.  He  rejected  my  explanation,  exclaiming 
'Fie!  how  cynical  you  are!' 

"What  did  this  answer  mean?  First,  that  I 
must  not  wash  myself  clean,  for  he  wanted  to 
have  me  dirty;  secondly,  that  he  gave  me  the 
lie;  thirdly,  that  his  sympathies  were  on  the  side 
of  the  slanderer.  I  draw  the  inference  that  this 
man  hated  me,  and  therefore  visited  me.  If  he 
could  not  have  intercourse  with  me,  he  could 
not  abuse  my  confidence  and  gratify  his  hate. 
His  tactics  were — to  live  my  life,  to  devour 
my  soul,  to  gnaw  my  bones.  The  attraction 
he  felt  to  me  he  called  sympathy,  though  it  was 
antipathy.  There  are  many  kinds  of  hate,  and 
a  wife's  'love'  to  her  husband  is  a  variety  of 
hate.  She  desires  his  virile  power  in  order  to 
become  a  husband  and  make  him  into  a  passive- 
wife." 

A  Letter  from  the  Dead. — The  teacher  said: 
"It  seems  as  though  one  could  live  the  life  of 
another  parallel  with  one's  own,  or  as  though  one 

X3 


194  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

might  be  in  touch  with  a  stranger  on  another  con- 
tinent. One  morning  I  received  a  letter  of  twenty- 
quarto  pages  from  America.  Long  letters  make 
me  nervous;  they  always  begin  with  flattery  and 
end  with  scolding.  I  read,  as  I  usually  do,  the 
signature  first,  which  was  unknown  to  me.  Then 
I  dipped  into  the  letter  here  and  there,  and  saw  that 
the  writer  wished  to  influence  me.  One  word 
pricked  me  like  a  needle,  and  I  tore  the  letter  into 
small  pieces  which  I  threw  in  the  paper-basket. 
In  the  night  I  dreamt  that  the  remarkable  man,  ^ 
who  seemed  still  to  guide  my  steps  after  his  death, 
showed  me  an  old  manuscript  which  I  had  not 
found  worth  reading.  The  old  servant  held  the 
manuscript  against  the  light,  and  then  I  saw  like 
a  water-mark  another  writing  between  the  lines. 
Immediately  afterwards  I  saw  in  my  dream  a 
broken-off  leaden  wire,  but  closer  inspection 
showed  its  surface  to  be  gold.  When  I  awoke  in 
the  morning  I  understood  the  dream  in  its  per- 
fectly clear  symbolism.  I  went  to  the  paper- 
basket,  collected  the  fragments  of  the  stranger's 
letter,  and  spent  six  hours  in  piecing  them  together. 
Then  I  began  to  read.  I  should  premise  that  the 
handwriting   was   so   like   that   of   my   deceased 

'  He  refers  probably  to  the  Chief  Librarian  in  the  Royal 
Stockholm  Library,  where  he  had  been  an  assistant  in  his  youth. 


A.  Letter  from  Hell  195 

and  honoured  teacher,  that  I  beHeved  I  was  read- 
ing a  letter  from  the  dead." 

A  Letter  from  Hell. — "The  letter  pricked  me 
like  a  packet  of  needles.  But  it  was  so  interesting 
that  I  was  continually  lured  onward  to  read  to 
the  end.  The  writer  began  by  saying  that  he  had 
received  his  first  intellectual  awakening  through 
my  books.  Since  then  his  course  for  twenty  years 
had  been  very  irregular;  led  astray  by  the  pre- 
vailing ape-morality,  he  had  gone  in  evil  ways. 
In  the  midst  of  his  wandering,  it  happened  to 
him  as  to  Dante  and  others — he  came  into  hell, 
but  found  a  Virgil  who  led  him  out  and  saved 
him.  Then  his  own  real  life  began.  He  passed 
all  the  sciences  from  philosophy  to  chemistry 
under  critical  review,  and  found  them  consisting 
of  mere  conventional  lies.  He  drifted  about 
helplessly  till  he  found  an  anchorage-ground  in 
faith  in  Christ,  the  Exorciser  of  demons,  the 
highest  Wisdom,  the  Redeemer  who  saves  from 
doubt,  despair,  and  madness. 

"During  the  perusal  I  felt  sometimes  as  though 
I  were  reading  my  own  life  or  a  satire  on  it. 
Annoyed  by  what  seemed  a  tactless  encroach- 
ment, I  often  wished  to  throw  the  letter  away 
but    could   not;  the   dream   always    recurred    to 


196  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

me,  and  the  letter  contained  new  and  bold  ideas 
sparkling  in  a-  chaos  of  contradictions  and  para- 
doxes. In  short,  it  proved  a  turning-point  in 
my  life.  It  exposed  my  faults,  but  showed  me 
at  the  same  time  that  I  had  held  the  right  course, 
in  spite  of  the  deflections  and  cross-currents  to 
which  I  had  been  exposed." 

An  Unconscious  Medium. — "Now  let  me  say  a 
few  words  about  my  deceased  mentor,  who  already 
in  his  lifetime  exercised  a  great  influence  on  my 
development,  though  without  knowing  or  wishing 
it.  I  was  young,  precocious,  dull,  and  untrust- 
worthy, mostly  because  I  wished  to  preserve  my 
personal  independence,  but  also  because  I  was  god- 
less, and  consequently  immoral  without  any  other 
principle  except  that  of  getting  on.  He,  my  chief, 
attracted  me,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  I  was  anti- 
pathetic to  him  in  most  things.  My  position 
required  that  I  should  serve  him  devotedly,  but 
I  wished  also  to  serve  my  own  interests.  He  was 
a  spiritist  and  Swedenborgian,  but  I  was  a  ma- 
terialist. This  he  was  aware  of,  because  I  was 
brutally  truthful.  But  struggle  as  I  might,  I 
came  under  his  influence  and  became  his  medium. 
There  were  days  on  which  he  was  so  blind  that 
he  could  not  read  the  old  manuscripts  which  he 


XHe  Revenant  197 

was  editing.  One  day  he  gave  me  a  mediaeval 
codex  in  a  difficult  character,  and  half  in  joke 
told  me  to  read  it.  I  read  it  at  once,  without 
havhig  learnt  the  character.  Then  he  had  dis- 
covered me.  But  I  worked  alone,  although 
unconsciously.  One  day  I  stumbled  on  a  pile  of 
old  documents,  and  found  a  date  which  he  had 
been  hunting  for  for  twenty  years.  Another 
time  I  found  an  historic  detail  of  great  importance 
which  altered  our  ideas  of  our  early  history. 
One  day  our  paths  diverged. 

The  Revenant. — "  Years  passed.  I  lived  abroad, 
but  my  thoughts  often  reverted  to  the  savant  who 
had  had  a  great  influence  on  my  life.  Often,  with- 
out any  special  reason,  I  spoke  of  him  for  hours  at 
a  time — not  always  with  the  respect  which  I  owed 
him.  I  was,  it  must  be  remembered,  a  pioneer,  to 
whom  nothing  was  sacred,  neither  parents  nor 
teacher.  One  day  I  heard  that  the  old  man  was 
dead.  Eight  days  later  there  appeared  in  the 
paper  this  mysterious  announcement.  An  inti- 
mate friend  of  the  deceased  received,  eight  days 
after  his  death,  through  the  post,  a  letter  from  him. 
The  paper  considered  it  a  jocose  mystification 
on  the  part  of  the  deceased,  who  loved  jokes.  I 
guessed  who  might  have  been  entrusted  with  the 


198  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

letter,  but  felt  astonished  that  a  dying  man  could 
take  such  pleasure  in  jesting,  especially  about 
things  which  he  had  taken  so  seriously.  When, 
two  years  later,  began  the  experiences  described 
in  my  book  Inferno,  I  felt  that  I  was  in  touch 
with  my  departed  teacher.  There  were  certain 
roguish  traits  in  the  phenomena  which  reminded 
me  of  him.  I  remember  one  night  addressing 
the  question  to  the  darkness,  'Is  it  you?'  The 
whole  affair  was  in  his  style,  teasing  in  form,  but 
well-meaning  in  purpose.  I  received  no  answer, 
but  the  impression  remained — a  mixture  of  terrible 
grim  earnest  and  behind  it  a  friendly  smile,  com- 
forting, pardoning,  protecting,  just  as  in  his  life- 
time, when  he  practised  patience  with  my  ill 
manners." 

The  Meeting  in  the  Convent. — The  teacher 
continued:  "During  my  wanderings  I  happened 
once  to  visit  a  convent  with  a  travelling  compan- 
ion in  a  comer  of  Europe.  What  interested  me 
specially  was  the  library,  for  I  had  long  been 
trying  to  trace  Anschar's'  journal.  After  I  had 
slept  the  night  in  a  cell  which  bore  the  inscription 
'B.  Victor  III.  P.P.,'  in  memory  of  Pope  Victor 
III   'who  punished  the  heretics  who  denied  the 

'  A  famous  French  missionary  in  Sweden,  a.d.  801-865. 


XKe  Meeting  in  tKe  Convent      199 

divinity  of  Christ, '  I  was  taken  into  the  Hbrary. 
The  first  thing  shown  me  was  a  collection  of  Latin 
hymns  of  the  Middle  Ages  which  had  been  edited 
by  my  deceased  teacher.  The  inner  side  of  the 
title-page  contained  some  handwriting  by  the 
editor,  which  was  so  peculiar  that  it  could  hardly 
be  imitated.  I  asked  the  Benedictine  monk  who 
accompanied  me,  whose  signature  it  was.  He 
answered,  'The  convent  librarian's.'  'Are  you 
certain?'  I  asked.  'Yes,  quite  certain.'  This 
discovery  of  his  handwriting,  which  I  had  never 
seen  elsewhere,  after  so  many  years  made  a  deep 
impression  on  me,  I  asked  myself  whether  the 
monk,  acting  as  a  medium,  could  have  imitated 
the  handwriting  of  the  deceased  editor.  After 
an  afternoon's  search  I  found  the  valuable  ex- 
planation that  Anschar's  journal  had  been  taken 
by  Abbot  Thymo  from  Corvey  to  Rome  in  a.d. 
1261 .  It  was  known  that  it  had  since  disappeared, 
but  now  I  had  found  a  trace  of  it.  I  felt  as  though 
my  deceased  friend  had  brought  me  here  into  the 
convent  in  order  to  discuss  Anschar's  journal, 
concerning  the  fate  of  which  we  had  often  made 
guesses  and  searches." 

Correspondences. — The    teacher    said:         "It 
seems  to  me  as  though  Swedenborg's  correspond- 


=5 


200  Z^ones  of  tHe  Spirit 

ences  or  correlatives  were  to  be  found  again  in  all 
departments,  as  though  natural  laws  on  a  higher 
plane  can  be  applied  to  the  spiritual  life  of  man. 
If  an  object  comes  too  close  to  the  magnifying 
glass,  it  becomes  indistinct.  Similarly  one  cannot 
see  the  object  of  one's  affections  if  she  comes  too 
close.  She  becomes  small  and  indistinct,  loses 
outline  and  colour;  but  remove  her  to  the  proper 
focus,  and  she  becomes  magnified  and  clear. 
Thus  it  is  with  princes  and  their  valets  de 
chambre. 

9  "But   there   are   also   exceptions   to   the   rule. 

Many  friends  gain  by  proximity;  one  must  see 
them  often,  otherwise  they  change  their  shape 
and  become  ghostly  and  alarming.  Others  again 
seem  better  at  a  distance;  whenever  we  meet 
them  we  lose  an  illusion.  The  attraction  between 
lovers  can  increase  in  proportion  to  the  square 
of  the  distance  between  them,  and  also  in  reverse 
proportion;  the  greater  the  distance,  the  greater 
the  pain  of  separation.  It  seems  also  possible 
to  apply  the  facts  of  electricity  in  the  psychical 
sphere.  Pellets  of  elder-pith  attract  one  another 
so  long  as  they  are  of  opposite  polarity,  but  when 
they  are  saturated  or  over- saturated  they  repel 
one  another.  But  the  mutual  repulsion  also  takes 
place  when  a  foreign  body  is  interposed  between 


Portents  201 

them,   for  then  an  influence  is  produced  which 
operates  laterally." 

Portents. — The  teacher  continued:  "As  soon 
as  I  beHeve  in  an  Almighty  God,  who  can  suspend 
the  few  natural  laws  which  we  know,  and  bring 
into  operation  the  countless  host  of  laws  which  we 
do  not  know,  I  must  beHeve  in  miracles.  Sweden- 
borg  does  not  deal  so  hardly  with  anyone  (at  the 
same  time  that  he  commiserates  them)  as  the  asses 
who  revere  the  creation  and  the  laws  of  nature, 
without  believing  in  the  Creator  and  Law-giver. 
They  go  with  their  noses  on  the  ground,  and 
if  anything  unusual  happens  'in  the  air,'  as  they 
say,  they  call  it  'a  meteorological  phenomenon,* 
and  attribute  it  to  such  and  such  natural  causes. 
They  register  the  phenomenon  in  their  records 
without  dreaming  of  anything  behind  it,  and  forth- 
with forget  the  matter. 

"We,  on  the  other  hand,  will  mention  some 
events  of  recent  years  and  connect  them  with 
certain  natural  phenomena  which  may  possibly 
denote  the  presence  of  warning  and  chastising 
powers. 

"On  the  7th  June,  1905,  Sweden  and  Norway 
separated.  A  year  previous  an  earthquake  took 
place  which  had  its  centre  in  the  Kattegat.     One 


202  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

shock  reached  Christiania  and  caused  a  terri- 
ble panic  in  the  churches;  people  trampled  one 
another  to  death  or  lost  their  reason.  Another 
shock  affected  Stockholm  and  caused  alarm,  but  in 
a  minor  degree;  among  those  affected  by  it  was  a 
prince  of  high  military  rank.  In  January,  1905, 
a  hurricane  burst  over  Christiania,  tore  the  roof 
from  the  royal  castle,  and  injured  the  fortress  of 
Akershus.  The  same  hurricane  travelled  east- 
ward to  Stockholm,  tore  the  roof  from  the  guards* 
barracks  and  threw  it  on  the  drilling-ground. 
These  statements  can  be  verified  by  reference 
to  the  newspapers.  The  question  is:  'Are  these 
portents  or  not?'  Are  symbolic  natural  phe- 
nomena portents?" 

The  Difficult  Art  of  Lying. — The  teacher  said: 
"When  people  lie  deliberately,  usually  with  the 
object  of  gaining  something,  I  often  do  not  hear 
what  they  say.  One  day  a  carpenter  came  to  me 
with  a  complaint.  I  listened  to  him  and  helped 
him.  The  next  day  he  came  again  in  order  to  do 
a  piece  of  work.  Then,  among  other  things  he  let 
this  remark  fall:  'To-day,  thank  God,  she  is 
better.'  'Who?'  I  asked.  'I  mentioned  yester- 
day that  my  child  had  fallen  down  the  staircase. ' 
Then  I  felt  ashamed  of  having  taken  so  little 


THe  Difficult  Art  of  Lyin^  203 

interest  in  his  troubles,  and  murmured  some 
sympathetic  words.  But  when  he  had  gone  I 
thought  over  the  matter.  Since  I  generally 
hear  very  well  and  attend  to  what  people  say, 
I  was  astonished  that  I  had  not  noticed  his 
account  of  his  trouble.  I  could  not  explain  it 
to  myself. 

"Some  time  later,  after  some  months,  I  con- 
ceived a  strong  feeling  of  distrust  towards  this 
man.  I  remembered  the  German  proverb,  'A 
liar  should  have  a  good  memory, '  and  determined 
to  test  him.  Therefore  I  said  to  him  abruptly, 
'Did  you  have  a  good  summer?'  'Splendid,' 
he  answered.  'Is  your  wife  quite  well?'  'Per- 
fectly. '  '  Your  child  too? '  '  She  has  never  passed 
through  the  summer  so  well.'  Accordingly  he 
had  lied  when  he  said  the  little  girl  had  had 
an  accident,  and  had  subsequently  forgotten  it. 
What  was  unreal  could  leave  no  impression  be- 
hind— an  interesting  fact,  as  it  seemed  to  me. 
In  connection  with  this  I  remembered  that  an  actor, 
a  pessimist  and  hopeless  despairer,  had  to  play  the 
part  of  a  believing  and  positive  character  on  a 
certain  occasion.  That  evening  the  audience  could 
hardly  hear  a  word  of  what  he  said.  I  was  aston- 
ished at  the  time,  but  now  I  understand  that  he 
was  lying." 


204  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

Religious  and  Scientific  Intuition. — The  pupil 
said:'  "The  everlasting  strife  between  Faith  and 
Knowledge  would  have  been  stifled  at  the  outset 
if  some  sharp  wit  had  discovered  in  time  that  the 
problem  is  wrongly  stated,  for  the  two  ideas  form 
no  real  antithesis.  What  I  know,  that  I  believe; 
consequently  faith  presupposes  knowledge,  con- 
sequently knowledge  is  subsumed  under  faith. 
But  the  word  'belief  has  received  other  significa- 
tions. In  religion  it  means  reception  or  absorption. 
Science  recognises  the  fact  of  intuition  or  rapid 
inference,  i.  e.  the  faculty  of  reaching  certainty 
without  sufficient  reason  and  without  a  complete 
chain  of  proof.  That  is  scientific  belief,  and  is  in 
complete  analogy  with  religious  belief.  When  a 
man  arrives  at  the  knowledge  of  God  and  of  His 
laws  by  way  of  intuition,  when  he  then  tests  this 
knowledge  by  observing  his  experiences  and  finds 
it  confirmed,  then  the  final  outcome  of  his  investi- 
gation is  Belief.  Belief  is  complete  objective  cer- 
tainty, but  on  a  higher  plane,  so  that  all  scientific 
chatter  that  Knowledge  is  higher  than  Belief 
is  mere  nonsense.  By  'knowledge'  in  this  case 
one  understands  for  the  most  part  information 
about  stones,  plants,  and  animals,  and  historical 
facts  such  as  the  year  in  which  a  certain  book  was 
published,  when  Goethe  was  in  Strasburg,  whether 


THe  Freed  XKinKer  205 

Rebecca  Ost's  real  name  was  Popoffsky  or  Johanna 
Hagelstrom,  or  whether  an  Apostle-mug  is  genuine 
or  imitation.  The  antithesis  '  Faith  or  Knowledge ' 
is  the  stupidest  dispute  about  words  which  ever 
took  place,  and  a  disgrace  to  humanity. " 

The  Freed  Thinker. — The  teacher  said:  "In 
order  to  think  rightly  and  in  accordance  with  law, 
I  must  free  my  reason  from  fetters  of  rustic  intel- 
ligence,- from  interests,  passions,  conventional 
considerations.  One  must  go  into  deep  solitude, 
and  not  be  afraid  of  remaining  alone,  deserted  by 
all.  Above  all,  one  must  not  belong  to  any  party 
which  regulates,  inspects,  and  degrades.  In  order 
to  be  able  to  dare  to  give  up  the  weak  and  hamper- 
ing support  of  men,  one  must  be  able  thoroughly 
to  rely  upon  God.  In  order  to  do  that  one  must 
keep  one's  conscience  as  clean  as  possible,  must 
hate  evil,  strive  after  righteousness  and  good- 
ness, bear  everything  except  humiliation,  exercise 
mercifulness,  and  take  trials  as  such  and  not  as 
persecutions. 

"The  electric  clock  has  contact  and  connection 
with  a  correctly-timed  chronometer.  And  so 
my  reason  cannot  think  logically  till  •  I  have 
opened  connection  with  the  Logos,  and  no  longer 
discharge  contrary  currents  of  sterile  denial  and 


2o6  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

doubt.  Only  in  life  with  God  is  there  freedom 
of  thought,  freedom  from  impure  impulses,  sel- 
fish and  ambitious  interests,  freedom  from  the 
wish  to  stand  well  with  the  crowd.  That  is  the 
freed  thinker  in  contrast  to  the  '  free-thinker, ' 
who  has  left  the  rails  and  lost  connection  with  the 
overhead  wire;  he  will  come  to  grief  at  the  next 
street-comer,  and  is  of  no  more  use  as  a  vehicle  of 
traffic." 

Primus  inter  pares. — The  pupil  continued: 
"Religions  seemed  to  be  determined  by  regions 
like  nationalities.  Swedenborg  hints  at  something 
of  the  sort,  saying  that  people  have  the  religion 
which  they  ought  to  have.  Those  who  have  no 
religion  are  tramps  and  vagabonds,  pariahs  and 
gipsies,  scoundrels  and  swindlers.  They  think 
they  are  at  home  everywhere,  but  are  so  only  on 
the  high-roads,  in  the  market-places,  behind  the 
circus-stable,  in  the  alehouse.  _  When  Lessing 
asserts  in  Nathan  der  Weise  that  all  religions  are 
equally  good,  he  shows  that  he  has  not  understood 
Christianity,  which  is  the  beginning  and  end  of 
the  world's  history.  The  Muhammedans  are  cer- 
tainly religious,  more  religious  than  the  Chris- 
tians, and  among  the  adherents  of  Islam  are  many 
sects,  but  no  atheistic  ones.     All  observe  the  hours 


HeatKen  Imaginations  207 

of  prayer,  fasts,  and  daily  washings.  Muhammed 
was  no  Christ-hater.  But  they  are  alien  to  our 
climate.  Still  we  have  something  to  learn  from 
them ;  they  are  not  ashamed  to  show  their  religion, 
while  we  shufHe  with  it.  They  are  not  only  re- 
ligious on  Sundays  but  every  day  and  all  day. 

"But,  if  we  heard  that  a  Christian  had  gone  over 
to  Islam  we  should  regard  it  as  a  fall  from  the 
higher  to  the  lower,  while  the  conversion  of  a 
Muhammedan  to  Christianity  would  be  hailed 
as  an  ascent.  Saladin  was  certainly  noble  and 
Nathan  wise,  but  the  nobleness  of  the  former 
had  somewhat  of  a  pose  about  it,  and  the  wisdom 
of  the  latter  was  of  the  same  homely  kind  as 
Voltaire's.  On  the  other  hand,  Godfrey  de 
Bouillon  accepted  the  crown  of  thorns  instead 
of  the  king's  crown,  and  St.  Louis  gave  his  life 
for  the  wisdom  which  surpasses  all  understanding." 

Heathen  Imaginations. — The  teacher  said :  "  Re- 
ligions are  represented  by  regions,  defined  ter- 
ritories, circles,  of  which  each  considers  himself 
the  centre.  The  modem  heathen  sit  in  their  little 
bag,  which  is  big  enough  to  be  seen,  and  when  they 
only  see  heathen  they  imagine  that  Christianity 
is  decaying  or  altogether  done  with.  And  yet 
it  is  flourishing  as  it  never  did  before;  everything 


2o8  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

serves  the  Gospel  with  or  against  its  will.  The 
heathen  find  new  weapons  in  heaps  of  ruins  and  in 
temple-libraries;  they  close  churches  and  thereby 
bring  Christianity  into  life  and  into  the  domestic 
circle.  When  they  make  life  bitter  for  the  Chris- 
tians, the  latter  turn  from  the  sour  and  seek  the 
fresh.  The  missionaries  who  were  only  lately 
regarded  with  a  contemptuous  smile  are  now  dis- 
covered by  great  explorers  in  deserts  and  wilder- 
nesses, where  they  have  established  oases  of 
humanity  and  mercy.  There  the  plundered  wan- 
derer can  rest  his  weary  head,  secure  of  having 
found  one  trustworthy  man.  He  who  wishes  to 
know  the  effect  of  Christianity  on  an  idolater 
should  read  Kanso  Utschimura's  Memoirs  of  a 
Japanese;  or,  How  I  Became  a  Christian.  Those 
who  preach  'cheerful  paganism'  can  see  in  this 
work  how  a  polytheist  is  torn  and  tortured  by 
doubt,  and  tossed  to-and-fro  between  the  contra- 
dictory commands  of  eighty  million  gods." 

Thought  Bound  by  Law.— The  teacher  said: 
"When  a  young  man  comes  and  says  he  is  a 
free-thinker,  say  to  him:  'You  lie.  You  think 
with  your  stomach,  your  throat,  your  sexuality, 
with  your  passions  and  your  interests,  your  hate  and 
your  sympathies.     But  in  your  youthful  immatur- 


TKoxig'Kt  Bovind  by  Law  209 

ity  you  do  not  really  think  at  all,  but  merely  drivel. 
What  is  instilled  into  you,  you  give  out,  and  dub 
your  wishes  by  the  name  of  thoughts. '  Moreover 
*  free- thought '  is  a  contradiction  in  terms,  for 
thought  obeys  laws,  just  as  sound,  light,  and  chem- 
ical combinations  do.  Thought  is  bound,  bound 
by  laws.  If  you  say  *  There  is  no  God, '  you  speak 
without  thinking.  'Non-existence'  and  'God' 
are  two  incommensurate  ideas  which  cannot  be 
brought  into  juxtaposition.  If  they  are,  there  re- 
sults an  absurdity  which  is  the  secretion  or  excre- 
tion of  an  illogical  and  confused  mind. 

" If  on  the  other  hand  you  say  'There  is  no  God 
for  me, '  there  is  something  probable  in  that. 
But  you  should  be  ashamed  to  speak  of  it.  It 
only  means  that  you  are  a  godless  dog,  a  perverse 
ape,  a  conscienceless  deceiver  and  thief  whom  men 
must  avoid  and  detectives  must  watch.  Fortu- 
nately godlessness  is  an  hallucination  imposed  on 
haughty  blockheads  as  a  punishment.  When  the 
'  free-thinker '  discovers  some  day  how  stupid  he 
is,  then  he  is  freed,  and  that  is  a  mercy  for  him. " 

Credo   quia   (et-si)    absurdum.  —  The  teacher 

said:  "If  I  call  myself  a  Christian  it  is  because 

I  recognise  Christ  as  a  power,  a  source  of  strength, 

from  whom  I  obtain  strength  by  prayer  in  order 

14 


2IO  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

to  support  tolerably  the  burdens  of  life.  But  at 
the  same  time  I  confess  that  I  cannot  understand 
nor  explain  the  doctrine  of  Atonement  through 
sacrificial  death.  That  is  not,  however,  the  fault 
of  the  doctrine  but  a  defect  in  me.  I  have  also 
no  right  to  deny  a  matter  of  fact  because  I  do  not 
understand  it.  Here  is  an  illustration.  If  I 
multiply  2  by  2  I  obtain  an  increase — 4.  But  if 
I  multiply  i  by  ^  I  obtain  as  a  result  a  decrease 
by  half,  i.  e.  \.  Here  is  an  incomprehensible  con- 
tradiction. Multiplication  cannot  produce  a  de- 
crease. Yet  it  is  mathematically  true  that  2 
multiplied  by  2  is  doubled,  i.  e.  4,  but  ^  multi- 
plied by  J  is  halved,  i.  e.  |.  My  intelli- 
gence would  fain  deny  it,  but  I  must  believe  it, 
and  in  doing  so  I  do  well,  otherwise  the  whole 
science  of  mathematics  would  be  unusable,  which 
would  be  a  great  loss.  Credo  quia  absurdum. 
That  means,  I  must  believe  a  fact  just  because 
it  is  incomprehensible  and  absurd  (for  me,  but  not 
for  others).  If  I  could  understand  it,  the  emer- 
gency short-cut  of  'faith'  would  not  be  necessary. 
That  is  the  sacrifice,  not  of  my  reason,  but  of  my 
rustic  understanding  and  of  my  pride." 

The  Fear  of  Heaven.— The  pupil  said:     "The 
astronomy  or  uranology  of  the  astronomers  has 


THe  Fear  of  Heaven  211 

ceased  to  make  any  progress  since  it  has  become 
godless.  They  have  given  up  observing  the  sky. 
They  sit  there  and  calculate,  with  the  express 
purpose  of  calculating  God's  existence  away. 
Seven  years  ago  I  met  a  teacher  of  astronomy. 
He  did  not  know  that  the  equator  of  the  sky  passes 
through  the  belt  of  Orion,  and  could  not  point  out 
the  ecliptic.  He  boasted  of  not  knowing  the  con- 
stellations, saying  it  was  no  science  to  know  them. 
Our  nearest  neighbour  the  moon  has  been  ignored 
for  a  long  time.  And  yet  in  1866  it  was  noticed 
that  changes  had  taken  place  there,  and  that  the 
crater  of  Linnasus  was  on  the  point  of  disappear- 
ing. On  the  other  hand,  they  are  trying  to  signal 
to  Mars.  If  man,  who  lately  in  his  folly  thinks 
he  has  solved  the  riddle  of  the  universe  without 
God,  only  knew  how  the  'gods'  are  to  us,  and 
if  he  understood  the  signals  which  they  send  to 
us  daily  and  hourly,  he  would  go  out  like  Peter 
and  weep  that  he  had  denied  his  Lord  or  behaved 
as  though  he  knew  Him  not. " 

The  Goat-god  Pan  and  the  Fear  of  the  Pan- 
pipe.— The  teacher  said:  "Like  all  lower  classes 
the  apelings  regard  themselves  as  supermen,  who 
march  at  the  head  of  all  movements  and  can 
regulate  developments.     Their  god  is  the  shaggy 


212  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

Pan,  who  had  been  a  goat  and  became  a  half- 
man,  and  later  the  Evil  One,  Satan,  or  God's 
opponent.  But  they  must  be  ashamed  of  their 
god,  for  they  call  themselves  atheists.  Their  re- 
ligion is  that  of  the  Satanists.  When  they  hear 
of  any  good  action  they  snort.  They  delight 
in  persecuting  and  tormenting  anyone  in  whom 
there  is  any  good  visible,  and  call  him  a  hypocrite. 
Their  children  learn  to  lie  as  soon  as  they  learn 
to  talk.  The  greatest  poet  of  the  apelings  has 
written  a  lament  over  the  '  Decay  of  lying '  and 
an  heroic  poem  in  six  cantos  in  praise  of  unnatural 
vice.  They  are  all  perverse,  mostly  in  secret,  but 
they  betray  themselves  in  their  writers,  who  write 
in  the  name  of  woman,  and  from  the  woman's  point 
of  view,  against  man.  For  by  confusion  of  sex  they 
have  lost  all  distinction  of  sex ;  they  have  ceased  to 
think  and  to  feel  as  men.  They  run  like  dogs  with 
their  noses  on  the  track  of  the  white  man,  in  order 
to  bite  him,  that  he  may  become  like  one  of  them. 
"There  are  white  men  who  have  been  seduced 
by  the  females  of  the  apelings.  The  children 
are  bastards,  and  their  lives  are  a  perpetual  con- 
flict against  the  Satanic  inheritance  they  have 
received  from  their  mothers.  Some  fight  in  vain; 
others  find  the  Helper.  There  is  only  One — 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Exorciser  of  demons.     You  know 


XKe  Goat-^odl  Pan  213 

that  I  was  such  a  bastard  and  fought  the  battle, 
which  is  not  yet  concluded. 

"The  apelings  preach  toleration.  By  that  they 
mean  that  whatever  they  do  must  be  overlooked, 
and  that  they  should  be  left  at  liberty  to  propa- 
gate their  doctrines,  while  they  more  or  less 
secretly  persecute  the  Christians.  As  soon  as 
they  begin  to  scent  Christian  blood  they  shudder. 
Then  they  begin  to  excommunicate  the  *  heretic. ' 
His  name  is  no  more  mentioned,  and  if  it  appears 
in  print  it  is  cut  out.  If  he  formerly  belonged  to 
the  body  of  the  apelings  he  is  now  called  an 
apostate,  and  must  die  as  a  traitor. 

"When  an  apeling  dies  he  obtains  an  apotheosis 
in  the  absence  of  a  pantheon.  At  the  burial  the 
wreaths  are  counted,  and  the  inscriptions  attached 
to  them  examined;  if  anyone's  name  is  missing 
he  is  excommunicated.  The  ceremonial  is  just 
like  that  of  a  witches'  sabbath  when  the  '  faithful ' 
gave  their  testimony.  But  it  may  happen,  when 
they  invoke  Pan,  that  he  answers  with  the  reed- 
pipe.  Then  if  he  shows  himself  in  the  wood  or 
in  the  bedchamber,  they  are  seized  with  a  panic 
fear;  they  weep  like  children  who  are  afraid 
of  the  dark,  or  fly  to  sanatoriums  to  be  cured 
of  their  neurasthenia,  their  sleeplessness,  and 
their  heart-complaints." 


214  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

Their  Gospel.— The  teacher  continued:  "But 
the  apeHngs  have  also  constructed  a  dogmatic 
theology  which  is  a  parody  of  the  Christian  faith. 
They  have  a  doctrine  of  reconciHation  which  pro- 
claims reconciliation  with  life,  but  it  is  really  a 
compromise  with  all  the  dirt  of  life  which  one 
generally  wipes  off  on  the  mat  at  the  house-door. 
They  teach  men  to  be  tolerant  towards  turpitude 
and  wickedness;  they  describe  men  as  good  fellows, 
as  careless  creatures  who  are  thoroughly  good  at 
bottom — '  there  is  no  malice  in  them. '  The  really 
good  men,  who  cannot  do  anything  wicked,  seemed 
to  the  apelings  puritanical,  'Why  should  we  tor- 
ment ourselves  in  the  only  life  we  have?'  they  ask, 
feeling  quite  sure  that  they  will  be  annihilated  at 
death,  like  maggots. 

"According  to  this  distorted  gospel,  it  is  wrong 
to  describe  in  a  literary  work  how  the  malicious, 
the  liar,  the  deceiver,  the  pander  get  their  deserts. 
We  should,  they  say,  pardon  the  conscienceless 
and  obstinate.  Christianity,  on  the  other  hand, 
teaches  that  we  should  pardon  the  repentant 
who  improve.  In  the  apelings'  gospel  all  the 
teaching  of  Christ  is  sophisticated.  In  their  view 
all  Magdalenes  are  interesting  innocent  victims  of 
social  circumstances,  while  Christ  only  received 
the  Magdalene  who  had  abandoned  vice." 


THe  Disposition  of  tKe  Apes       215 

The  Disposition  of  the  Apes. — The  teacher  con- 
tinued: "This  is  the  whole  kernel  of  Darwinism, 
this  madness  which  infected  the  mind  of  a  genera- 
tion which  was  overstrained  with  the  pursuit  of 
power  and  luxury.  But  this  Beelzebub  could  only 
be  driven  out  by  another.  That  was  Nietzsche. 
He  was  a  demon  let  loose,  who  killed  the  ape, 
restored  the  man,  and  altered  the  old  popular 
estimates.  He  was  understood  because  he  spoke 
the  language  of  the  apelings.  That  was  the  only 
way  to  compel  them  to  listen,  for  they  would  never 
have  heard  a  Christian  prophet.  But  after  he  had 
his  say  his  tongue  was  spiked  and  his  tale  was  over. 

"Joseph  Peladan  was  a  Christian  prophet  of  the 
school  of  the  Therapeutae  and  Essenes.  The  ape- 
lings  feared  him,  and  could  not  name  his  name, 
for  it  stuck  in  their  throats.  Only  the  Christian 
upper  class  understood  him.  His  Christianity 
was  luminous  and  esoteric,  perhaps  too  luminous. 
But  after  a  pilgrimage  to  Christ's  grave  he  dis- 
covered the  deceit,  turned  his  back  on  the  '  recon- 
ciliation with  life, '  and  forswore  the  worship  of 
beauty  which  was  merely  the  dressing  up  of  the 
apes  with  white  sheets  and  ivy  leaves.  He  ceased 
to  be  interested  in  the  bestial  and  the  nude,  saw 
through  the  'joy  of  life'  and  Nora,'  immasked 

'  The  heroine  of  Ibsen's  Doll's  House. 


2i6  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

the  humbug  of  tolerance,  and  took  the  cross  in 
real  earnest,  as  it  is,  on  himself.  Peladan  was  a 
living  protest  against  apishness.  He  represented 
the  undercurrent,  not  the  surface-stream.  Still 
the  undercurrent  is  always  ready  to  mount  and 
overflow  and  cleanse  the  banks,  which  at  the  ebb- 
tide have  served  as  a  place  for  dumping  down 
rubbish." 

The  Secret  of  the  Cross. — The  teacher  said: 
"The  conflict  between  paganism  and  Christianity 
is  now  being  fought  out  in  the  world.  But  just 
as  surely  as  Christianity  preceded  paganism  in 
time,  so  surely  does  the  future  belong  to  Chris- 
tianity, although  for  the  moment  the  apelings  have 
the  upper  hand.  Their  edict  of  toleration  allows 
them  in  the  name  of  freedom  to  forbid  the  preach- 
ing of  Christianity.  They  close  the  churches, 
declare  Judas  innocent,  give  mad  women  the  vote, 
write  heathenish  schoolbooks  for  children,  place 
forgers  and  pettifoggers  in  power,  for  their  king- 
dom is  of  this  world.  But  it  is  with  Christianity 
as  with  the  walnut-tree,  whose  fruit  is  knocked 
down  with  poles,  and  which  is  roughly  treated 
in  order  that  it  may  bear  fruit  and  thrive.  The 
night  grows  darker  towards  the  dawn.  Spinach- 
seed  is  trodden  down  that  it  may  grow  better; 


Examination  and  S\jmmer  Holidays    217 

the  ground  must  be  harrowed,  broken,  and  rolled 
in  order  to  be  able  to  yield  a  crop;  gold  must  be 
refined  in  fire,  and  flax  be  steeped  in  water.  The 
cross  points  upwards,  downwards,  sideways,  to 
the  four  quarters  of  heaven  at  once;  it  is  a  com- 
pletion of  the  compass.  Suffering  bums  up  the 
rubbish  of  the  soul.  I  have  seen  a  man  who  had 
suffered  all  the  griefs  endured  by  humanity;  yet 
the  more  he  suffered  the  more  beautiful  he  became. 
That  is  the  secret  of  the  cross  and  of  suffering. 
'Because  ye  are  not  of  the  world,  therefore  the 
world  hateth  you.  In  the  world  ye  have  tribula- 
tion, but  be  of  good  cheer;  I  have  overcome  the 
world.'" 

Examination    and    Summer    Holidays.  —  The 

teacher  said:  "When,  on  reaching  maturity, 
one  awakes  to  new  consciousness  and  discovers 
that  everything  one  has  is  borrowed,  one  begins 
to  cut  oneself  down  to  the  root,  in  order  to  let 
strike  a  new  stem  which  is  one's  own.  When  we 
enter  old  age  this  stem  withers  down  to  the  root 
(the  process  Swedenborg  calls  'desolation');  the 
branches  formerly  cut  down  bloom  again  and  put 
forth  new  foliage  which  is  like,  and  yet  not  like 
the  former.  But  when  old  and  new  flourish 
together,  the  whole  result  is  confusing;  but  the 


2i8  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

root  remains  the  same  and  reveals  the  nature  of 
the  plant.  The  dissonances  of  life  increase  with 
the  years,  and  the  material  of  life  becomes  so 
immense  that  it  is  impossible  to  survey  it  pro- 
perly. Therefore  one  lives  more  in  remembrance 
than  in  the  present,  and  along  the  whole  line  of 
one's  experience.  Sometimes  I  live  in  my  child- 
hood, sometimes  in  my  mature  age. 

"But  it  is  strange  that  one  does  not  feel  old 
age  to  be  the  beginning  of  an  end  but  the  intro- 
duction to  something  new,  i.  e.  when  one  has 
recovered  the  belief  or  assurance  that  there  is  a 
life  on  the  other  side.  One  feels  as  though  one 
were  preparing  for  an  examination  by  doing  pre- 
liminary exercises  and  one  becomes  literally  young 
again.  There  is  a  little  touch  of  examination  fever 
with  it,  but  also  great  hopes  mingled  with  dreams 
of  the  future.  These  remind  us  of  Christmas  joys, 
summer  holidays,  family  gatherings  with  recon- 
ciliations and  wishes  fulfilled.  But  there  is  also 
a  scent  of  broken-off  birch-leaves  and  the  seashore ; 
there  is  a  sound  of  Sunday  bells  and  organs,  the 
attraction  of  new  clothes,  white  linen,  and  a  bath 
in  green  sea-water.  There  is  a  feeling  like  that 
of  evening  prayer  and  a  good  conscience,  wife, 
home,  and  child  after  a  journey,  the  hearth-fire 
after  a  snow-storm,  the  first  ball  and  the  one  we 


"Veering  and  TacKin^  219 

loved  to  dance  with  most,  the  opening  of  the  sav- 
ings-box, and  first  and  last  the  examination  and 
the  summer  holidays." 

Veering  and  Tacking. — The  teacher  continued: 
"The  Theosophists  speak  of  the  seven  planes  of 
the  Kama-Loka,  the  condition  after  death.  I 
will  admit  that,  in  certain  circumstances,  I  have 
lived  simultaneously  on  several  planes.  This  was 
difficult  for  me,  and  still  more  difficult  for  my 
enemies  to  understand.  I  should  like  to  have 
explained  these  contradictions  in  existence  by  a 
cleavage  of  the  personality  or  a  multiplication  of 
the  ego.  I  have  also  sought  the  solution  of  the 
riddle  in  the  self-adaptation  to  one's  surroundings, 
to  which  St,  Paul  refers  in  the  First  Epistle  to  the 
Corinthians :  '  To  the  Jews  I  became  a  Jew.  .  .  . 
To  those  who  are  under  the  law,  I  became  as 
under  the  law.  ...  To  those  who  are  without 
law,  I  became  as  one  without  law.  To  the  weak 
I  became  as  weak.*  .  .  .  Kierkegard  speaks  of 
Sympaschomenos  who  rejoices  with  the  joyful, 
mourns  with  the  sad,  is  coarse  with  the  coarse, 
refined  with  the  refined. 

"Swedenborg  makes  another  suggestion,  'When 
a  man  is  to  be  bom  again,  his  desires  and  falsities 
cannot  be  stripped  off  at  once,  for  that  would 


220  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

be  equivalent  to  destroying  the  whole  man,  be- 
cause as  yet  he  only  lives  in  them.  Therefore 
for  a  long  while  evil  spirits  are  left  with  him,  to 
stir  up  his  desires  that  they  may  be  dissolved  in 
many  ways, ' 

"Formerly  I  believed,  when  I  was  young  with 
the  youthful,  old  and  wise  with  the  old,  mad 
with  the  mad,  that  I  was  doing  them  a  service. 
As  a  poet,  I  lived  for  the  moment  in  their  life 
and  their  moods,  which  I  then  depicted  and  forgot 
myself.  Often  by  these  relapses  into  stages  I  had 
left  behind,  I  seemed  to  have  worked  myself  higher, 
as  the  ship  tacks  in  order  to  get  a  more  favourable 
wind." 

Attraction  and  Repulsion. — The  teacher  con- 
tinued: "There  is  both  an  attraction  and  a  re- 
pulsion between  similar  souls.  Like  loves  like, 
but  not  always;  often  the  unlike  seeks  the  unlike. 
A  good  man  lamented  to  me  that  it  was  his  lot 
always  to  be  in  bad  society,  and  never  to  meet  good 
men  who  could  elevate  him.  Since  he  was  strong 
he  was  at  any  rate  not  drawn  down,  but  he  did 
not  observe  that  he  exercised  a  good  influence  on 
his  bad  surroundings.  He  had,  it  is  true,  occasion 
to  see  and  to  hear  evil;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  he 
was  able  to  react  against  it  through  the  disgust 


Attraction  and  Repulsion  221 

with  which  it  inspired  him.  Without  instituting 
a  comparison  we  may  say  that  Christ  did  not 
attract  people  of  high  position  and  good  character, 
but  poor  devils  and  weak  characters,  the  sick,  the 
possessed,  the  wicked,  thieves,  publicans,  and 
harlots.  His  disciples  did  not  understand  his 
doctrine,  but  interpreted  it  all  in  a  material  way. 
He  answered  their  reproaches  by  saying,  'Only 
the  sick  need  a  physician.'  I  will  suppress  my 
former  objection,  for  I  bow  myself  experimentally 
before  'the  folly  of  the  cross,'  since  experience 
has  taught  me  that  wisdom  can  only  be  received 
by  a  humble  mind,  and  that  obedience  is  more 
than  sacrifice.  In  recent  times  my  constant 
prayer  has  been  that  I  might  come  into  good 
society  which  might  elevate  me,  and  avoid  evil 
companionship  which,  to  say  the  least,  involves  an 
injurious  connection  with  the  lower  plane.  It  is 
in  truth  my  fault  that  those  who  seek  me  seek 
my  old  ego,  and,  when  they  do  not  find  it,  believe 
that  I  am  not  to  be  found." 

The  Double. — The  pupil  said:  "When  a  man 
begins  to  love  a  woman  he  throws  himself  into  a 
trance,  and  becomes  a  poet  and  artist.  Out  of  her 
plastic,  unindividualised  material  he  fashions  an 
ideal  form  into  which  he  puts  all  that  is  best  in 


222  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

himself.  Thus  he  creates  an  homunculus  which 
he  adopts  as  his  double,  and  with  that  she  lets  him 
do  as  he  likes. 

"But  this  astral  image  may  be  also  the  doll 
which  she  the  huntress  sets  up  as  a  decoy,  while 
she  with  a  loaded  gun  lies  behind  the  bush  and 
watches  for  her  prey.  The  love  of  a  man  for  his 
homunculus  often  survives  every  illusion;  he  may 
have  conceived  a  deadly  hatred  against  herself, 
while  his  love  for  his  double  continues.  But  this 
masquerade  gives  rise  to  the  deepest  dissonances 
and  troubles.  He  becomes  squint-eyed  by  con- 
templating two  images  which  do  not  coincide. 
He  wishes  to  embrace  his  cloud,  but  takes  hold  of 
a  body;  he  wishes  to  hear  his  poem,  but  it  is 
someone  else's;  he  wants  to  see  his  work  of  art, 
but  it  is  only  a  model.  He  is  happy  during  his 
trance,  although  the  world  cannot  understand 
him.  When  he  awakes  from  his  somnambulism, 
his  hatred  to  the  woman  increases  in  proportion 
as  she  fails  to  correspond  to  his  image  of  her.  And 
if  he  murders  his  double,  then  love  is  done  with, 
and  only  boundless  hate  remains. " 

Paw  or  Hand.^ — The  pupil  said:  "In  Kipling's 
wonderful  Jungle  Book,  the  boy  is  intimate  with 
all  kinds  of  animals  but  not  with  apes,  which  are 


Pa"W  or  Hand  223 

the  worst  of  all  creatures  and  composed  of  wicked- 
ness and  crime.  When  Goethe,  in  the  second 
part  of  Faust,  wishes  to  represent  phantoms  and 
evil  spirits,  he  uses  the  same  masks  and  costumes 
as  for  the  monkeys  in  the  Witches'  Kitchen  in  the 
first  part.  And  it  is  among  these  degenerate  brutes 
that  man  (?)  now  does  his  best  to  seek  his  ancestry. 
For  my  part  I  would  rather  trace  my  origin  from  a 
noble  horse,  or  a  sagacious  and  honest  elephant,  or 
from  a  courageous  and  thankful  eagle. 

"But  it  is  probable  that  apes  spring  from 
degenerate  men,  escaped  criminals,  and  ship- 
wrecked Robinson  Crusoes.  The  hand  of  the 
chimpanzee  is  not  a  paw  which  is  being  evolved 
into  a  hand,  but  it  is  a  human  hand  which  is 
degenerating  into  a  paw.  A  palmist  could  read 
the  lines  of  it;  a  manicurist  could  improve  it  and 
make  it  capable  of  wearing  a  glove.  If  man  really 
sprange  from  apes,  according  to  the  law  of  phy- 
logeny,  a  child  ought  to  be  bom  with  a  hairy  body. 
But  now  it  comes  into  the  world  as  smooth  as  an 
angel,  often  without  hairs  even  on  its  head.  It  is 
a  disgrace  to  me  that  I  served  the  Ape-king,  the 
seducer  of  my  youth!    And  it  was  so  stupid!" 

The   Thousand-Years'  Night   of   the   Apes. — 

When  the  sun  of  Christianity  rose  over  the  world, 


224  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

it  naturally  became  night  for  the  apelings.  When 
they  tiimed  their  backs  to  the  light,  everything 
became  distorted  for  them.  Right  became  left, 
east  became  west,  good  became  evil,  black  became 
white,  day  became  night.  Therefore  one  reads 
still  of  their  thousand-years'  night,  as  they  call 
the  Middle  Ages.  When  the  savage  tribes  of 
Europe  became  tame,  when  the  aged  and  sick 
became  objects  of  pity,  when  governments  ruled 
and  laws  protected,  when  faith,  hope  and  love, 
self-sacrifice  and  chivalry  flourished,  then  it  was 
night  for  the  pagans.  When  Europe  received 
science,  when  Albertus  Magnus,  Thomas  Aquinas, 
Roger  Bacon,  Arnold,  and  Basilius  founded 
chemistry,  metallurgy,  and  physic,  their  darkness 
increased.  When  mediaeval  art  culminated  in 
the  noblest  work  of  art  there  is — the  Gothic 
cathedral — then  it  grew  dark  before  the  eyes  of 
the  giants;  their  ears  could  not  endure  the  chime 
of  bells  and  organ-music.  Finally  the  Middle 
Ages  discovered  gunpowder,  the  compass,  and 
printing.  A  religious  man,  whose  sails  bore  the 
sign  of  the  cross,  discovered  America.  But  Pauli, 
the  disciple  of  Clemens  Romanus,  already  knew 
"the  ocean  which  cannot  be  crossed  by  men,  and 
the  lands  which  lie  behind  it. " ' 

'  Clement,  Epistle  to  the  Romans,  chap.  xx. 


TKousand-Years*  Night  of  tKe  Apes  225 

In  the  midst  of  the  darkness  of  the  heathen 
there  was  the  light  of  convent-schools  and  uni- 
versities, in  which  spiritual  as  well  as  woridly 
wisdom  was  taught.  Poems  of  chivalry,  romances 
and  dramas  were  composed.  Charlemagne  was 
a  Christian  King  Solomon ;  he  defeated  the  Philis- 
tines in  Saxony,  built  temples  out  of  the  ruins  of 
Rome,  held  learned  conversations  and  listened 
to  legends,  cultivated  the  land  and  gave  laws. 
That  was  the  brightest  phase  of  a  Europe  grown 
patriarchal  and  Christian.  The  gods  certainly 
did  not  walk  any  more  on  earth,  but  God's  mes- 
sengers were  in  constant  communication  with 
men,  and  disclosed  to  them  the  secrets  of  God's 
kingdom,  which  were  written  down  in  Apocalypses 
and,  best  of  all,  in  the  Legenda  Aurea.  Thomas 
a  Kempis's  Imitation  of  Christ  was  printed  and  is 
still  read  even  by  Protestants.  One  can  even 
read  the  Church  Fathers,  Augustine,  Jerome, 
Chrysostom;  Augustine  was  used  in  my  youth 
as  a  confirmation-manual.  Two  hundred  years 
before  the  Reformation — the  schism  in  the  Church 
as  it  should  rather  be  called — Dante  wrote  the 
most  Christian  of  all  poems,  which  the  heathen 
have  tried  to  steal  for  themselves.  Boccaccio 
expounded  the  Inferno  from  a  professor's  chair, 
a  fitting  penalty  for  the  trespasses  of  his  youth. 
15 


226  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

Botticelli,  Lippi,  Ghirlandajo  were  the  great 
religious  painters  of  the  Middle  Ages.  Their 
pupils  Michael  Angelo  and  Raphael  were  devout 
Christians,  although  the  heathen  have  wished  to 
appropriate  them  under  the  false  designation 
Renaissance,  or  new  birth  of  heathenism.  When 
at  the  beginning  of  modem  times  it  began  to  grow 
dusk,  the  dawn  rose  for  the  heathen  and  for  "the 
last  Athenians."  The  last?  There  will  certainly 
be  more  Athenians  who  will  wish  to  carry  owls 
to  Athens. 

The  Favourite. — Julian  was  an  Illyrian,  from 
the  predatory  state  composed  of  a  mixed  Phoe- 
nician race  who  worshipped  Baal  and  Astarte. 
He  had  a  small  head,  and  no  occiput;  he  had  thick 
lips,  a  beard  that  swarmed  with  vermin,  long  nails 
and  black  hands  with  which  he  groped  in  the  bleed- 
ing bodies  of  slain  beasts  in  order  to  prognosticate 
the  future  from  their  hearts  and  livers.  His 
cheerful  religious  services  consisted  in  the  sacrifice 
of  animals,  and  were  accompanied  by  the  dances 
of  immodest  girls.  In  order  to  refute  ancient 
prophecy,  he  wished  to  build  again  the  Temple  at 
Jerusalem.  But  fire  broke  out  of  the  ground,  so 
that  the  undertaking  was  frustrated  at  its  com- 
mencement.    This  madman  once  came  to  Antioch, 


Scientific  Villainies  227 

where  there  were  a  hundred  thousand  heathen 
whom  he  expected  to  receive  him  with  pubHc 
sacrifices  and  dances.  Instead  of  which  he  was 
met  by  a  solitary  priest  bearing  a  goose.  That  was 
all! 

This  unattractive  person,  who  has  become  the 
darling  of  The  Last  Athenian^  and  the  new  heathen, 
was  finally  enticed  into  a  desert.  There  he 
suffered  hunger  and  thirst  till  a  lance  pierced  his 
liver.  But  it  is  incredible  that  he  exclaimed, 
"Thou  hast  conquered,  O  Galilean!"  He  was  far 
too  stupid  for  that. 

Scientific  Villainies. — If  anyone  comes  to  you 
and  says,  "I  don't  understand  the  proof  for  the 
existence  of  God,"  you  should  answer,  "You 
don't  understand  because  your  wickedness  darkens 
your  understanding. "  All  atheists  are  rascals,  and 
all  rascals  are  atheists.  Their  intelligence  is  so 
beclogged  with  sin  that  they  cannot  understand 
the  simplest  teachings  of  Christianity,  the  Incar- 
nation and,  consequently,  Immaculate  Birth  of 
God,  His  Resurrection  and  Ascension. 

When  the  sectaries  came  to  Luther  and  said 
that  they  could  not  understand  him,  because  they 
had  another  Spirit,  he  answered,  "I  smite  your 

'  The  Last  Athenian,  title  of  a  work  by  Victor  Rydberg. 


228  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

Spirit  on  the  snout!  God  rebuke  thee,  Satan!" 
A  godless  man  or  a  so-called  free-thinker  is  a 
rascal  who  permits  himself  everything.  His  na- 
tural sympathy  for  scoundrels  is  so  strong  that 
he  will  swear  a  false  oath  in  order  to  save  the 
guilty  from  condemnation  by  a  false  alibi.  He 
will  accuse  an  innocent  man,  and  persecute  him 
from  one  court  of  appeal  to  another,  in  order  to 
get  him  into  prison,  and  will  demand  a  large 
sum  of  money  as  a  reward  for  his  ill-doing. 

When  the  guilty  is  acquitted  they  give  him  a 
banquet,  his  companions  write  odes  in  his  honour, 
he  is  promoted  and  finally  appointed  to  be  an 
instructor  of  youth.  When  an  atheist  adopts  the 
pursuit  of  science,  one  is  sure  only  villainy  will 
result.  He  says  falsely  that  he  has  seen  such  and 
such  things  under  the  microscope,  in  order  to 
be  able  to  write  a  treatise  on  them.  If  he  is  an 
astronomer  he  will  see  as  many  canals  in  Mars  as 
his  professor  wishes.  If  his  professor  does  not 
believe  in  the  canals  in  Mars,  he  will  not  see  any. 

Necrobiosis,  i.  e.  Death  and  Resurrection.^ — 

During  the  winter  I  found  the  chrysalis  of  a 
cockchafer  and  laid  it  on  my  writing-table.  One 
evening  in  the  lamplight  it  began  to  click 
and  make  small  movements.     Believing  that  the 


Necrobiosis  229 

warmth  had  developed  my  beetle  I  opened  its 
black  coffin,  but  found  to  my  astonishment  only 
a  white  slime  without  a  sign  of  organisation;  it 
smelt  of  sour  gastric  jmce.  This  half -fluid  mass, 
however,  possessed  the  capacity  of  movement. 
Later  on,  when  I  had  a  microscope  with  a  large 
field  of  view,  I  opened  the  chrysalis  of  a  butterfly 
and  examined  it.  On  a  clear  yellow  background 
of  fluid  matter  there  was  sketched,  as  it  were, 
the  outline  of  the  future  butterfly  in  half-shadow, 
without,  as  yet,  any  bodily  organisation.  That  is 
called  "necrobiosis,"  or  the  dying-off  of  living 
tissue.  And  the  deliquescence  of  the  chrysalis 
in  slime  is  termed  ' '  histolysis. "  Its  reorganisation 
is  said  to  take  place  by  means  of  corpora  adiposa, 
or  particles  of  fat.  More  than  this  I  do  not  know. 
I  wrote  to  Germany  (where  they  are  accustomed 
to  know  everything)  and  asked  for  some  works 
treating  of  the  metamorphosis  of  the  chrysalis, 
but  there  were  none  on  this  most  important  and 
interesting  question.  Father  Darwin  and  his  son 
Haeckel  knew  nothing  and  wished  to  know  noth- 
ing about  the  resurrection;  they  only  knew  about 
birth  and  death.  Finally  I  bought  for  five-and- 
twenty  kroners  a  large  work  on  butterflies  com- 
posed by  a  professor.  There  was  not  a  word 
in   it  regarding  the  necrobiosis  of  the  chrysalis. 


230  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

But  sometimes  I  see  on  a  gravestone  within  a 
church  wall  this  symbol :  caterpillar,  chrysalis,  and 
butterfly. 

Secret  Judgment. — When  one  sees  a  fact  re- 
peated regularly  and  under  defined  conditions, 
one  believes  one  has  discovered  a  law.  I  think 
I  have  discovered  a  law,  and  consequently  a  tri- 
bunal whose  decisions  we  see,  but  whose  inner 
working  we  can  only  guess  at.  I  had  a  relative 
who  had  reached  a  certain  age  without  "ever 
having  time"  to  think  of  death.  On  the  i8th 
January  of  the  year  i8- —  he  had  a  stroke  and  fell. 
That  was  the  first  warning.  Then  he  began  to 
think  about  death  and  the  life  after  this,  and 
occupied  himself  thus  for  six  years;  then  he  died 
exactly  on  the  same  day,  on  the  i8th  of  January. 
The  fact  of  the  interval  being  six  years  made  me 
think  of  Bismarck's  six  years  in  Sachsenwald, 
when  he  sat  alone  and  brooded  on  the  transitory 
character  of  greatness,  and  curiously  enough 
injured  his  reputation  through  being  betrayed  by 
vanity  into  making  incautious  revelations.  Then 
it  occurred  to  me  that  Napoleon  was  six  years  on 
St.  Helena,  and  finally  became  so  well  "prepared" 
that  he  received  the  sacrament  on  his  death-bed. 
Whether  Heine  lay  on  the  ground  for  exactly  six 


Secret  Judgment  231 

years,  with  his  body  wasted  to  the  size  of  a  child's 
and  tormented  by  the  fear  of  losing  his  wife,  I 
cannot  say  definitely;  but  it  was  about  six.  It 
is  well  known  that  the  pious  Linnaeus  had  to 
spend  his  last  years  seated  in  a  chair,  lamed  by 
paralysis;  nor  did  even  he  escape  being  worried 
by  a  quarrelsome  wife,  God  alone  knows  why! 

Our  great  and  glorious  Tegner  received  his 
first  warning  in  1840.  It  was  accompanied  by 
a  condition  like  that  described  in  my  Inferno, 
during  which,  among  other  things,  he  saw  his 
whole  poetical  work  in  a  depreciatory  light,  and 
even  at  last  wished  to  cancel  it  all.  After  just 
six  years'  preparation  he  died  on  November  2, 
1846,  in  a  cheerful  state  of  mind,  the  sky  being 
lit  up  at  the  time  by  a  splendid  aurora.  Gold- 
schmidt  mentions  that  and  still  more  remarkable 
things  in  his  excellent  Nemesis  Divina.  I  read 
lately  how  Fersen  was  murdered  in  his  carriage 
on  June  20,  18 10.  I  recalled  to  mind  that  it 
was  the  same  Fersen  who  drove  the  carriage  in 
which  Marie  Antoinette  fled  to  Varennes.  I 
referred  to  the  History  of  the  World,  and  found 
that  the  flight  to  Varennes  took  place  on  June  20, 
1 79 1.  The  question  arises:  "Was  it  a  crime  to 
wish  to  save  the  queen?"  The  author  of  the 
article  in  the  Biographical  Lexicofi  mentions  the 


23^  Xones  of  tKe  Spirit 

crime  by  name;  but  it  was  something  other  than 
the  attempt  to  further  her  escape. 

Hammurabi's  Inspired  Laws  Received  from  the 
Sun-God. — The  laws  of  Hammurabi  occupy  fifteen 
quarto  pages.  That  is  the  whole  find!  And 
these  pages  are  to  nullify  the  Bible,  which  is  so 
unsearchably  rich  and  possesses  such  mysterious 
depths  that  everyone  in  trouble,  who  with  hu- 
mility seeks  for  counsel  and  comfort  there,  finds 
it  forthwith,  although  he  may  first  receive  some 
blows  which  strike  the  nail  on  the  head ! 

Hammurabi's  laws  in  fifteen  pages  resemble 
Deuteronomy  to  a  certain  degree,  but  are  much 
more  meagre;  they  often  recall  our  old  Swedish 
law  with  its  trivialities.  For  instance:  "If  any- 
one strikes  out  a  man's  teeth,  his  teeth  shall  be 
struck  out;  but  if  he  strikes  out  the  teeth  of 
an  emancipated  slave,  he  shall  pay  one-eighth  of 
a  mina  of  silver. ' ' 

In  any  case  God  is  one,  and  His  laws  are  in 
principle  the  same.  The  Bible  may  have  used 
the  same  source  as  Hammurabi.  But  when  the 
heathen  try  to  use  the  laws  of  the  Assyrian  clay 
tablets  in  order  to  prove  that  the  Bible  is  not 
inspired,  they  miss  the  mark.     "Inspired"  means 


Strauss' s  Life  of  CHrist  233 

"received  from  God."  See  how  the  heathen  has 
adorned  his  paltry  pamphlet  with  a  frontispiece, 
which  asserts,  against  his  will,  that  Hammurabi's 
laws  were  also  inspired.  For  the  frontispiece 
portrays  Hammurabi  receiving  his  laws  from  the 
Sun-god. 

Strauss's  Life  of  Christ. — Now  that  I  am  sixty 
years  old,  it  occurred  to  me  to  see  what  sort  of  a 
book  Strauss's  Leben  Jesu  is  before  I  depart.  In 
my  youth,  in  the  'sixties,  we  read  in  school  (of 
our  own  accord,  however)  "the  last  Athenian's 
doctrine  of  the  Bible, "  but  we  never  succeeded  in 
seeing  the  original  Life  of  Jesus.  And  although 
I  have  been  in  libraries,  collected  books,  visited 
second-hand  book-stalls,  I  have  not  seen  Strauss's 
book.  It  seemed  as  though  it  had  been  confiscated 
by  the  Invisible  Powers.  Now  when  I  am  sixty, 
it  has  arrived  and  I  tried  to  read  it.  But  I  could 
not. 

It  was  simply  unreadable!  All  these  many 
pages  contained  nothing,  and  what  was  printed 
seemed  to  me  incomprehensible,  soulless,  dry. 

A  man  who  writes  a  book  about  what  he  does 
not  understand;  a  student  who  has  learnt  the 
aesthetic  systems  by  heart;  a  philosopher  who 
tries   to   define    the   beautiful;  a   mathematician 


234  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

who  wants  to  prove  or  disprove  axioms ;  a  drunken 
man  who  tries  to  play  the  flute;  a  feeble  foolish 
attempt  to  explain  God's  great  miracle  in  the 
Atonement.  I  threw  the  book  away,  else  I  should 
have  gone  to  sleep  over  it. 

Strauss  died  in  1874,  ^^^  ^^  spite  of  the  last 
stage  of  his  development,  when  he  did  not  believe 
any  more  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  he  spent 
his  last  hours  in  reading  Plato's  Phcedo,  in  which 
at  the  death-bed  of  Socrates  the  immortality  of 
the  soul  is  so  clearly  demonstrated. 

His  death  was  like  that  of  Socrates,  his  pupils 
said.  But  they  do  not  inform  us  whether  the 
cup  of  poison  was  at  hand. 

Christianity  and  Radicalism. — Christianity  is 
really  more  radical  than  Radicalism.  Christ 
turns  his  back  on  the  whole  of  society  with  its 
institutions,  science,  and  art.  He  warns  us  against 
the  scribes;  the  rich  are  not  his  friends,  but  rather 
Lazarus ;  the  rich  youth  is  told  to  sell  all  that  he  has 
and  to  give  to  the  poor.  To  soldiers  Christ  says, 
"Those  who  take  the  sword  shall  perish  with  the 
sword."  He  says  nothing  about  science,  art,  and 
industry  because  He  is  indifferent  to  them.  He 
has  no  great  illusions  about  men,  for  he  calls  them 
" a  generation  of  vipers. "     And  rightly;  since  the 


CKristianity  and  Radicalism       235 

earth  is  a  prison  for  those  who  have  committed 
crimes  in  heaven,  we  are  all  rascals;  but  it  is  the 
prison  chaplain's  duty  to  preach  pardon  to  those 
who  behave  properly.  To  open  the  prison  would 
be  unwise  and  unlawful ;  there  Christianity  differs 
from  Anarchism.  Give  custom  to  whom  custom 
is  due,  and  to  Caesar  what  is  Caesar's.  Authority 
is  ordained  of  God,  and  beareth  not  the  sword  in 
vain. 

Christianity  and  Radicalism  accordingly  agree 
in  their  criticism  of  society,  but  not  in  the  infer- 
ences they  draw.  The  Christian  endures  the 
sufferings  of  the  prison-house  with  religious  resig- 
nation; he  does  not  waste  valuable  time  in 
making  foolish  proposals  regarding  the  reform  of 
prison-life  and  management.  In  order  to  obtain 
mitigation  and  pardon,  and  to  escape  the  dark 
cell  and  scourging,  he  tries  to  behave  well,  but 
he  does  not  believe  that  the  prison  can  be  a  place 
of  recreation. 

All  that  Rousseau,  Max  Nordau,  and  Tolstoi 
have  said  against  the  faults  of  society  is  quite 
true,  but  their  inferences  are  false.  Socialism,  i.  e. 
pagan  socialism,  which  preached  development  and 
progress,  went  its  crab-like  course  backwards  to 
the  trade  unions  which  had  been  dissolved,  lim- 
ited industrial  freedom,   introduced  inquisitorial 


236  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit   ^ 

methods,  excommmiicated  heretics.  In  the  great 
strike  non-socialists  were  refused  water  and  gas, 
bread  and  milk  for  children.  They  compelled 
the  contented  to  be  discontented,  made  men  wild 
and  despairing,  and  really  made  things  worse, 
when  they  ought  to  have  improved  them. 

But  in  their  pagan  Radicalism  they  did  not 
attain  to  the  height  of  Christianity.  Unbelieving, 
they  believed  in  everything  that  was  false — scien- 
tific fallacies,  politico-economical  errors,  philo- 
sophical stupidities.  Into  a  pagan  one  may  instil 
every  possible  falsehood  and  stupidity;  but  for 
the  truth  in  its  real  relations  he  is  deaf  and 
blind. 

To  have  a  moderate  quiet  contempt  of  the 
world,  to  be  already  half  out  of  it,  one's  staff  in 
one's  hand  and  one's  knapsack  on  one's  back, 
ever  ready  for  departure,  to  have  clean  hands  and 
a  good  conscience — that  is  the  way  not  to  be  easily 
assailable.  Then  one  is  not  envied,  and  suffers 
not  from  disappointments  and  humiliations,  for 
one  is  prepared  for  all,  and  has  anticipated  all  in 
advance. 

' '  Vanity ,  Vanity , ' '  saith  the  Preacher.  ' '  Sow  in 
the  morning  thy  seed,  and  in  the  evening  with- 
hold not  thy  hand,  for  thou  knowest  not  which 
shall  succeed,  or  whether  both  alike  are  good." 


Where  Are  We?  237 

Where  Are  We? — If  men  only  knew  where  they 
are! 

The  description  which  the  ancients  gave  of 
Tartarus  exactly  fits  our  condition  in  this  life. 
The  ambitious  man  rolls  his  stone  up  the  hill 
like  Sisyphus,  and  when  he  has  got  it  to  the  top 
it  rolls  down  again.  A  certain  architect  spent 
twenty-five  years  of  his  life  in  working  and  intrigu- 
ing in  order  to  build  a  temple  for  the  state.  The 
temple  was  built  and  consecrated,  a  torch-light 
procession  was  held  in  honour  of  the  architect, 
and  he  was  crowned  with  a  laurel-wreath.  The 
next  day  the  newspapers  informed  us  that  the 
temple  must  be  pulled  down  because  it  was  a 
failure.  The  architect  died  half  a  year  afterwards 
in  an  asylum;  the  temple  was  demolished  and  the 
architect's  name  forgotten  and  obliterated.  Tan- 
talus, the  rich  miser,  stands  in  the  midst  of  a  spring 
of  water,  but  cannot  drink;  branches  laden  with 
fruit  hang  over  his  head,  but  when  he  stretches 
out  his  hand  to  pluck  a  fruit  a  gust  of  wind  comes 
and  tears  the  branch  away.  The  rich  man  has 
worked  and  swindled  till  old  age  begins.  Then  at 
last,  when  the  grouse  come  flying  towards  him,  he 
has  no  teeth  left;  his  wine-cellar  is  full,  but  the 
doctor  has  forbidden  him  wine.     That  is  Tantalus ! 

Ixion  revolves  on  his  wheel,  at  one  moment  up, 


238  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

at  another  down.  The  ancients  assigned  as  the 
reason  of  his  punishment  that  he  had  boasted  of 
the  favour  of  a  woman  who  had  never  been  his. 

The  Danaides,  the  coquettes,  are  perpetually 
drawing  water,  but  their  vessel  is  like  a  sieve; 
everything  enters  it,  but  nothing  remains. 

All  day  long  and  every  day  one  hears  the  expres- 
sion "That  is  hell!" — such  is  the  universal  view. 
When  things  look  a  little  brighter,  the  table  is 
covered,  the  bed  made,  and  we  feel  well  again. 
We  cheat  ourselves  often  with  alcohol,  and  con- 
tinue our  somnambulism.  Then  we  are  awoken 
by  a  noise,  start  up,  rush  about,  weep,  and  then 
go  to  sleep  again.  At  last  sleep  is  banished  once 
for  all,  and  we  wake  never  to  sleep  any  more. 
Once  we  are  well  awake  no  opiates  are  of  avail. 

Then  we  discover  the  whole  cheat.  We  see 
where  we  are,  and  what  our  past,  which  seemed 
so  real,  was.  The  comparatively  wise  man  then 
turns  away  from  the  phantoms  and  shadows  of 
reality  in  order  to  seek  the  other,  the  true,  the 
actual  Real.  Then  the  state  is  seen  to  be  a 
prison;  the  defenders  of  the  fatherland  are  body- 
snatchers;  society  is  a  madhouse,  whose  warders 
are  the  officials  and  police ;  family  life  is  concubin- 
age; capitalists  are  usurers;  the  fine  arts  are 
superfluities ;  literature  is  printed  nonsense ;  indus- 


Heg'ers  Christianity  239 

try  feeds  unnecessary  luxury ;  railways  are  instru- 
ments of  torture;  the  electric  light  ruins  the  eyes; 
all  the  blessings  of  civilisation  are  either  curses 
or  superfluous. 

When  we  have  seen  this,  we  turn  our  backs  on 
all  and  seek  the  only  thing  that  holds,  that  gives 
a  real  answer,  that  fulfils  what  it  promises.  But 
this  super-real  fools  call  a  phantom. 

HegePs  Christianity. — There  are  two  Voltaires : 
one,  the  mocker  at  all  definite  reHgion,  who  is 
revered  by  the  godless;  the  other,  the  fanatical 
champion  of  God  who  is  ridiculed  by  the  atheists 
because  he  believed  in  God  as  naively  as  a  child. 
Voltaire  recovered  his  reason  before  he  died,  as 
lunatics  are  wont  to  do ;  when  he  died  he  was  defin- 
itely religious  and  took  the  sacrament.  There  are 
also  two  Kegels.  But  they  are  more  complicated 
than  Voltaire,  who  was  as  simple  as  a  feuilletonist. 
Hegel  discovered  with  his  logic  that  what  exists 
has  a  right  to  exist;  he  defends  the  status  quo, 
society,  state,  reHgion  with  all  their  corollaries, 
because  they  have  proceeded  from  God;  every- 
thing is  right  since  it  exists.  "It  belongs,"  he 
says,  "to  the  essence  of  religion  that  it  should 
realise  itself  in  several  historical  religious  forms. 
Of  these,  however,  Christianity  is  the  only  one 


240  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

which  suitably  expresses  the  essence  of  reHgion. 
In  her  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  the  Christian  Church 
contains  the  nucleus  of  all  philosophical  specula- 
tion. For  this  signifies  nothing  less  than  that 
the  Eternal  God,  enthroned  in  His  majesty  over 
the  sphere  of  the  finite,  condescends  and  reconciles 
Himself  to  the  finite,  becomes  man,  suffers,  dies, 
and  returns  to  Himself  as  the  Holy  Spirit. "  That 
is  well  put ;  but  every  schoolchild  knew  it  already 
from  Luther's  "little  catechism."  For  what 
object  then  is  this  extraordinary  accumulation  of 
several  thousand  pages  of  incomprehensible  philo- 
sophy? To  what  purpose?  Hegel  died  of  cholera 
in  1 83 1,  after  traversing  many  devious  ways,  as 
a  simple,  believing  Christian,  without  any  philo- 
sophy, repeating  the  penitential  psalms. 

"  Men  of  God's  Hand.  "—That  is  Kind  David's 
expression  (Ps.  xvii.,  14)  which  he  uses  of  the  god- 
less, to  whom  the  Lord  gave  power  over  His  people 
Israel  when  they  behaved  badly.  Thereby  is  the 
knotty  problem  solved,  why  God  gives  the  godless 
power,  honour,  and  wealth,  while  He  often  chas- 
tises His  servants. 

The  Pharaohs  were  idolaters  and  wizards,  but 
God's  chosen  people  had  to  be  their  slaves.  The 
Philistines  worshipped  Baal  and  Astarte,  but  they 


"Men  of  God's  Hand**  241 

were  allowed  to  devastate  Canaan  and  even  to 
carry  away  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant.  Nebuchad- 
nezzar was  no  saint,  quite  the  contrary,  but  he 
was  permitted  to  carry  the  children  of  Israel 
into  captivity.  Good  men  are  not  adapted  to  be 
instruments  of  chastisement,  and  the  office  of 
executioner  is  not  an  enviable  one.  Everyone 
has  his  Egyptian  armed  with  a  rod,  whether 
they  are  called  superiors,  employers,  customers, 
the  public,  newspapers,  or  even  public  opinion. 

All  strive  for  an  imaginary  independence  or 
so-called  freedom,  while  there  is  no  independence 
and  no  freedom.  Therefore  the  effort  is  vain. 
Only  one  thing  remains — to  reconcile  oneself  to 
obedience  to  human  authority  for  the  Lord's 
sake,  and  to  pay  taxes  where  taxes  are  due.  And 
where  one  earns  one's  bread,  one  must  be  polite. 
Vex  not  thyself  that  thy  trade  and  thy  position 
are  difficult;  God  has  so  appointed  it. 

Night  Owls. — The  maggot  in  the  apple  doubtless 
imagines  that  the  apple  was  grown  for  its  sake, 
and  that  the  world  could  not  exist  without  apples. 
So  we  also  imagine  that  science  and  art  are  cer- 
tainly necessary.  Swedenborg,  in  his  description 
of  another  sphere,  tells  us  how  happy  men  can 
be  without  such  luxuries.  "They  know  nothing 
16 


242  2^ones  of  tKe  Spirit 

of  sciences  as  we  see  them  in  our  world,  and  wish 
to  know  nothing;  they  call  them  'shadows,'  and 
compare  them  with  clouds  which  come  between 
the  sun  and  the  spectator.  This  idea  of  the 
sciences  they  have  derived  from  certain  spirits  who 
came  from  our  earth  and  introduced  themselves 
as  those  who  had  grown  wise  through  science. 
These  spirits  from  our  earth  who  made  this  claim 
belonged  to  those  who  see  wisdom  in  such  things 
as  are  pure  matters  of  memory,  such  as  languages; 
in  historical  matters,  which  belong  to  the  literary 
world;  in  bare  experiences  and  terms,  especially 
philosophical  ones.  Because  these  have  not  de- 
veloped their  faculty  of  reasoning  through  science, 
they  have  in  their  second  life  little  power  of  per- 
ceiving the  truth,  for  they  see  only  in  and  by 
means  of  technical  terms,  which  like  hills  and  thick 
clouds  obstruct  the  sight  of  reason.  Those  who 
have  employed  the  sciences  in  order  to  destroy 
matters  of  faith  have  their  reason  so  thoroughly 
imsettled  that  in  pitch-darkness  they  take  false 
for  true,  and  evil  for  good,  like  night-owls." 

The  flag  of  the  imiversity  also  carries  the  sign 
of  an  owl,  but  they  do  not  know  what  it  means. 

Apotheosis. — When  a  man  who  has  been  near  to 
us  dies,  he  begins  to  loom  magnified  through  a  kind 


-ApotKeosis  243 

of  haze.  All  his  less-pleasing  characteristics  are 
obliterated,  as  if  they  were  part  of  that  dust 
which  is  now  dissolved.  His  better  self,  on  the 
other  hand,  becomes  larger  and  clearer.  It  is 
indeed  possible  that  the  liberated  spirit  becomes 
ennobled  by  death,  and  that  therefore  the  sur- 
vivor is  right  in  forming  a  new  conception  of  the 
personality  of  the  deceased.  He  with  whom  the 
survivor  now  holds  spiritual  intercourse  is  perhaps 
what  the  survivor  feels  him  to  be,  and  has  ceased 
to  be  what  he  was  in  life.  It  is  almost  invariably 
the  case  that  the  survivor  torments  himself  with 
reproaches  that  he  has  been  guilty  of  some  neglect 
towards  the  dead,  has  done  him  slight  injustices 
and  spoken  hard  words.  Even  the  coldest-hearted 
begs  the  dead  secretly  for  forgiveness — forgiveness 
for  all  even  when  it  was  hardly  ill-meant.  All  this 
seems  to  signify  that  the  dead  one  is  alive,  and  has 
need  of  kindly  thoughts  as  a  compensation  for  the 
reproaches  he  makes  himself  regarding  those  he 
has  left  behind. 

Painting  Things  Black. — There  are  men  who 
anticipate  their  troubles,  hoping  thereby  to  neu- 
tralise or  to  bribe  destiny.  But  that  is  a  mistaken 
calculation.  I  know  of  an  author  who  saw  a  great 
calamity  approaching  and  tried  to  write  it  away. 


244  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

He  composed  a  drama  on  that  theme,  and  hoped 
thereby  to  have  escaped  it.  Soon  afterwards, 
however,  it  arrived  and  the  effect  was  as  strong 
as  though  it  had  never  been  written  about,  per- 
haps even  more. 

Theosophists  say  that  we  can  create  thought- 
forms  which  assume  Hfe  and  reahty.  They  mean 
that  men  can  send  from  a  distance  evil  suggestions 
which  others  carry  out.  Thus  criminal  romances 
have  never  deterred  anyone  from  crime ;  they  have 
on  the  contrary  given  scoundrels  bright  ideas  for 
new  pieces  of  rascality.  I  actually  know  of  a  so- 
ciety novel  which  criticised  bank  and  joint-stock 
company  frauds,  with  the  result  that  such  frauds 
increased.     It  is  as  though  one  let  loose  demons. 

Therefore  it  is  dangerous  merely  to  think  evil  of 
men ;  one  may  do  them  harm  thereby.  But  what  a 
supernatural  effort  is  necessary  always  to  see  good 
where  so  little  is  to  be  found !  And  when  we  try 
our  best  we  find  that  we  have  played  the  hypo- 
crite. It  is  almost  hopeless  to  hold  the  balance 
level  when  it  is  a  matter  of  judging  men  justly, 
for  human  nature  is  evil  and  cannot  be  altered. 

The  Thorn  in  the  Flesh. — Whence  come  evil 
and  ugly  thoughts  which  start  up  in  our  most 
beautiful  moments,  in  the  hour  of  devotion,  and 


THe  THorn  in  tKe  FlesH  245 

even  in  prayer?  We  wish  to  ignore  them;  we 
have  the  impression  that  they  come  from  without. 
But  it  is  possible  that  they  are  bom  of  the  habit 
of  letting  evil  thoughts  have  free  course  in  silence 
and  solitude.  Still  it  is  mysterious  that  the  greater 
the  height  to  which  we  have  attained  by  striving, 
the  deeper  we  fall.  And  I  can  testify  from  my  own 
experience  that  it  is  at  the  very  time  of  renuncia- 
tion and  self- discipline  that  one  is  most  liable  to 
unclean  thoughts  and  imaginations.  St.  Anthony 
and  other  saints  are  examples  of  this. 

A  great  sorrow,  for  instance,  the  longing  for  a 
lost  child,  is  the  quickest  and  best  means  of  burn- 
ing away  the  rubbish.  But  often,  alas!  on  the 
sorrow  there  follows  a  boisterous  joy  which  is 
not  of  the  noblest  kind.  Immediately  after  our 
noblest  moods,  when  we  have  been  inspired  by 
the  most  beautiful  thoughts  and  purposes,  it  is 
possible  in  the  next  moment  to  feel  like  a  coxcomb. 

It  is  not  strange  that  the  ancients  believed 
in  demons  who  whisper  into  one's  ear  and  suggest 
impure  imaginations.  Possibly  this  was  St.  Paul's 
thorn  in  the  flesh,  which  pricked  him  so  that  he 
should  not  be  too  much  uplifted. 

Despair  and  Grace. — When  in  youth  one  sought 
to  conquer  evil  desires,  and  even  harmless  ones, 


246  2Sones  of  tKe  Spirit 

with  the  severest  scourge  provided  by  reHgion, 
and  then  saw  that  one  could  not  change  one's 
vices,  one  let  go  of  the  reins  and  life  went  as  it 
went.  Work  was  the  chief  occupation  of  middle 
life,  and  there  was  no  time  to  think  of  one's  soul. 
Life  itself  moulded  one's  character,  and  one  threw 
a  bone  to  the  dog — the  flesh  in  order  to  be  able  to 
work  in  peace. 

Then  when  in  old  age  we  come  to  reflect,  and 
at  sixty  find  that  we  have  remained  very  much 
the  same,  we  wish  to  begin  our  spiritual  education, 
but  with  indifferent  success.  We  had  hoped 
that  certain  desires  would  disappear  and  certain 
virtues  take  their  place  by  a  kind  of  natural 
necessity,  as  we  had  believed  when  young.  But, 
alas!  that  is  not  the  case.  When  now  we  again 
resume  the  struggles  of  our  youth  the  case  is  thus. 
We  have  raised  our  standard  higher,  and  wish  to 
root  out  all  the  weeds.  What  formerly  seemed 
quite  natural — envy  of  a  fellow-worker,  revenge 
on  an  enemy,  pride  in  success,  exultation  at  a  foe's 
downfall,  a  small  white  lie — we  now  find  hateful. 
And  so  we  begin  to  struggle  against  the  outward 
manifestations  of  these  things.  But  when  we  find 
the  inner  evil  just  as  strong  as  before,  we  finally 
regard  ourselves  as  great  hypocrites  and  are  ready 
to  despair. 


TKe  Last  Act  247 

Where  is  comfort  to  be  found  then?  Rehgion 
only  asserts  that  we  are  hypocrites,  and  our  fellow- 
men  regard  it  as  a  fact.  Absolute  despair  seizes 
us.  What  follows  then?  Grace!  It  becomes 
clear  to  us  that  everything  is  grace,  and  from  grace. 
And  that  we  have  been  living  on  the  bread  of 
charity  which  we  believed  we  had  earned. 

The  Last  Act  (From  the  life  of  a  leader  of  the 
"Renaissance ") . — The  final  act  is  the  most  import- 
ant one  in  a  drama,  and  a  dramatist  generally 
begins  his  work  at  the  end.  We  sit  out  a  long 
evening  at  the  theatre  in  order  to  see  the  last  act 
or  "how  it  will  go."  But  in  the  significant  lives 
of  certain  men  people  like  to  ignore  the  last  act, 
because  it  is  uncomfortable  and  might  show  how 
the  godless  fare  at  last.  He  who  wrote  the 
operetta  Boccaccio  had  to  append  the  last  act  to 
it;  the  jovial  Florentine  became  a  priest  and  de- 
livered lectures  on  Dante's  Hell,  though  he  only 
reached  the  seventeenth  canto.  Voltaire's  last 
hours,  when  he  took  the  sacrament,  might  furnish 
a  subject  for  a  tragedy  like  the  second  part  of 
Faust.  Heine  announced  his  conversion,  which 
took  place  in  185 1 ,  in  the  preface  to  the  Romancer 0: 
"I  have  returned  to  God  like  the  prodigal  son, 
after  I  had  fed  swine  with  the  Hegelians  for  a 


248  Xones  of  tKe  Spirit 

long  time."  This  preface  should  be  printed  be- 
fore every  collection  of  Heine's  poems.  Hegel 
singing  penitential  psalms  on  his  death-bed  might 
form  the  subject  of  a  fresco  painting  for  the 
entrance-hall  of  Berlin  University.  But  the  most 
affecting  final  act  is  Oscar  Wilde's  description 
of  his  prison  life  in  De  Profundis.  He  was  the 
so-called  renaissance  leader,  who  disinterred  heath- 
enism with  its  false  worship  of  beauty,  which  con- 
tains the  foulest  of  all.  Kierkegaard'  would  have 
called  him  the  aesthete,  the  Sybarite  cold  as  cast 
iron,  the  egoist  round  whose  petty  "I"  the  whole 
world  was  to  revolve  in  order  to  understand  him 
alone.  Many,  led  astray  like  him  by  the  seducing 
spirits  of  his  youth,  remained  fairly  free  from  public 
punishment.  Wilde  seems  to  have  been  picked 
out  to  furnish  a  startling  example,  for  his  posi- 
tion, at  any  rate  in  his  own  country,  was  almost 
that  of  an  idol. 

What  he  wrote  lacks  originality;  it  is  whipped- 
up  foam;  glazing  which,  when  washed  off,  leaves 
no  texture;  it  is  as  restless  as  cross-lights,  or  like 
a  mirror  in  a  public  restaurant,  in  a  labyrinthine 
hall  with  deceptive  lines  and  false  perspectives; 
it  runs  out  of  the  hand  like  albumen  or  frog-spawn ; 
it  is  perverse  as  in  Dorian  Grey,  the  hero  of  which 

'  Danish  theologian. 


The  Last  Act  249 

should  have  lost  his  youth  by  nightly  excesses, 
while  on  the  contrary  it  is  only  his  portrait  which 
changes. 

The  last  act  was  played,  and  that  outdid 
all  horror,  was  so  horrible  that  Wilde  himself 
could  not  describe  its  details,  which,  however, 
oral  tradition  has  preserved  in  a  Swedenborgian 
legend. 

De  Profundis  arouses  pity  and  fear,  and  one 
would  gladly  acquit  the  man  who  was  perhaps 
the  victim  of  his  delusion;  a  worldly  tribunal 
would  not  have  judged  him  if  he  had  not  himself 
appealed  to  it,  and  that  indeed  for  a  wrong  done 
him.  It  was  what  our  renaissance-critic  called 
a  "piece  of  stupidity"  when  he  made  Wilde  out 
to  be  a  martyr  of  "  hypocrisy, "  as  he  called  justice. 
Wilde  however  seems  to  have  taken  another  view 
of  the  matter  to  his  impartial  defender:  "A 
day  in  prison  on  which  one  does  not  weep  is  a  day 
on  which  one's  heart  is  hard,  not  a  day  on  which 
one's  heart  is  happy.  Once  I  had  put  into  motion 
the  forces  of  society,  society  turned  on  me  and 
said:  'Have  you  been  living  all  this  time  in 
defiance  of  my  laws,  and  do  you  now  appeal  to 
those  laws  for  protection?  You  shall  have  those 
laws  exercised  to  the  ivl\. '  A  man's  very  highest 
moment,  I  have  no  doubt  at  all,  is  when  he  kneels 


250  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

in  the  dust  and  beats  his  breast  and  tells  us  all  the 
sins  of  his  life." 

The  "joy  of  life"  whose  perfume  he  had  inhaled 
at  Oxford  through  Pater's  Renaissance  now  began 
to  grow  sour. 

"Clergymen  and  people  who  use  phrases  with- 
out wisdom  sometimes  talk  of  suffering  as  a 
mystery.     It  is  really  a  revelation. 

"Behind  joy  and  laughter  there  may  be  a 
temperament  coarse,  hard,  and  callous.  Pain, 
unlike  pleasure,  wears  no  mask.  There  are  times 
when  sorrow  seems  to  me  to  be  the  only  truth. 
The  secret  of  life  is  suffering. " 

Let  us  add  that  Wilde  derived  his  most  danger- 
ous doctrine  from  Baudelaire  and  Shakespeare's 
sonnets.  And  let  us  close  with  the  new  view  of  the 
Renaissance  which  he  attained  to  in  prison:  "To 
me  one  of  the  things  in  history  the  most  to  be 
regretted  is  that  the  Christ's  own  renaissance 
which  has  produced  the  Cathedral  at  Chartres, 
the  Arthurian  cycle  of  legends,  the  life  of  St. 
Francis  of  Assisi,  the  art  of  Giotto,  and  Dante's 
Divine  Comedy,  was  not  allowed  to  develop  on 
its  own  lines,  but  was  interrupted  and  spoiled 
by  the  dreary  classical  Renaissance." 

Consequences  of  Learning. — As  soon  as  a  man 


Consequences  of  Learning        251 

buries  himself  in  books  he  gets  black  nails  and 
dirty  cuffs,  forgets  to  wash,  to  comb  his  hair,  and 
to  shave.  He  neglects  his  duties  towards  life, 
society,  and  men;  loses  spiritual  capacities,  be- 
comes absent-minded,  short-sighted,  wears  glasses, 
and  takes  snuff  in  order  to  keep  himself  awake. 
He  cannot  follow  a  conversation  with  attention, 
cannot  interest  himself  in  other  people's  affairs, 
does  not  see  the  face  of  the  earth  by  day  nor  the 
stars  by  night.  Behind  his  desire  to  investigate 
lies  the  insidious  ambition  to  master  his  material, 
to  become  an  authority,  to  tyrannise,  to  make  a 
career  for  himself,  and  to  receive  distinctions. 

If  men  only  reflected  what  tyrants  they  obey — 
these  black  magicians  who  are  called  professors; 
who  settle  what  we  are  to  think  and  believe ;  who 
test  and  examine,  reject  and  choose;  who  form 
committees,  write  handbooks,  deliver  lectures, 
and  bestow  prizes  on  those  who  accept  their 
hypotheses. 

And  has  it  ever  occurred  to  a  student  to  criticise 
his  teacher?  No;  he  swallows  everything  uncrit- 
ically. But  if  he  goes  into  a  church  where  he 
hears  God's  own  word  revealed  by  way  of  intui- 
tion to  the  prophets,  then  he  begins  to  exercise 
his  critical  faculty;  then  he  finds  it  very  difficult 
to  comprehend  the  simplest  things ;  then  he  wants 


252  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

mathematical  certainty,  which  he  considers  the 
highest  while  it  is  really  the  lowest. 

Swedenborg  says  in  one  place :  "Though  good- 
ness and  truth  are  sent  down  through  the  heavens, 
when  they  reach  the  hells  they  are  changed  into 
evil  and  falsity;  the  brilliant  light  of  the  sun 
changes  into  ugly  colours  and  its  warmth  becomes 
an  evil  odour." 

Rousseau. — In  my  youth  I  read  of  an  English- 
man who  shot  himself  because  life  was  so  weari- 
some. He  had  counted  the  buttons  which  he  had 
to  unbutton  and  button  up  every  day — in  his 
under-clothing  half  a  dozen,  in  his  day-shirt  half 
a  dozen,  in  his  collar  and  cuffs  half  a  dozen,  in 
his  waistcoat,  trousers,  and  coat  a  dozen,  in  his 
boots,  gaiters,  and  gloves  two  dozen.  When  he 
wanted  to  ride  out  he  had  to  change,  as  he  had 
also  to  do  for  dinner  and  the  evening. 

This  story,  though  absurd,  reveals  the  naked 
truth.  Life  has  become  so  burdensome,  and  half 
the  day  is  spent  in  useless  occupations:  unneces- 
sary visits,  telephoning,  writing  letters  about  no- 
thing, reading  the  papers;  especially  in  making 
one's  toilette  which  formerly  consisted  of  a  becom- 
ing mantle  fastened  with  a  single  cord,  but  has  now 
developed  into  a  whole  set  of  things  with  buttons, 


Rousseavi  A^ain  253 

hooks,  eyes,  strings,  ribbons,  needles,  buckles. 
Our  toilettes  are  a  miniature  picture  of  our  civ- 
ilisation with  all  its  time- wasting  fussiness,  most 
of  which  is  useless  nonsense.  The  man  who  lives 
in  the  country  and  cultivates  the  ground  needs 
neither  art,  science,  nor  literature.  He  who  has 
nature  needs  no  art,  and  religion  is  more  than 
science  and  literature.  There  are  churches  every- 
where, but  museums,  theatres,  book-shops,  and 
clubs  only  in  the  towns.  Whether  they  are  neces- 
sary is  another  question. 
That  is  Rousseau ! 

Rousseau  Again. — In  Southern  France  I  once 
saw  some  half-wild  Arab  horses  running  loose  in 
a  meadow.  They  still  had  their  long  tails  to  hide 
what  is  not  beautiful  and  to  protect  them  against 
the  stings  of  insects.  They  seemed  well  adapted 
to  their  purpose,  but  they  were  more  than  useful : 
they  were  beautiful.  And  when  I  contemplated 
the  lines  in  these  beautiful  creatures'  bodies — the 
curve  of  the  withers  such  as  is  not  found  in  geo- 
metry, its  continuation  along  the  back  and  loins; 
the  noble  construction  and  movements  of  the 
hind-legs;  the  proportions  of  the  shank  below 
the  knee  tapering  down  to  the  hoof,  which  leaves 
on  the  sand  graceful  prints  like  Moorish  arches 


254  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

— and  when  the  proud  creatures  sped  over  the 
meadow  in  full  gallop  with  movements  like  that  of 
a  sailing-boat  on  the  waves,  then  the  curves  played 
into  new  harmonies  and  changed  their  form,  tail, 
mane,  and  forelock  floated  like  draperies  about 
the  body,  and  I  thought  "All  that  is  certainly 
adapted  for  running,  but  it  is  much  more,  it  is 
beautiful;  it  has  not  come  to  be  of  itself,  but  it 
is  created  by  a  Contriver,  a  wise  and  great  Artist. " 
It  is,  however,  more  than  a  work  of  art,  for  it  has 
life  and  individuality,  and  no  two  horses  are  exactly 
alike.  Then  I  thought  of  the  attempts  of  men  to 
"improve"  this  masterpiece,  of  the  English  race- 
horses— those  machines!  In  this  process  of  selec- 
tion they  have  chosen  the  ugliest,  docked  their 
tails,  robbed  them  of  their  fairest  ornament, 
placed  an  apelike  jockey  on  their  backs  in  order 
to  make  money  by  racing.  To  this  caricature 
men  have  degraded  the  beautiful  gift  of  God. 

Anyone  who  has  learnt  at  school  to  draw  a 
horse  knows  how  difficult  it  is  to  make  these 
lines  harmonise,  and  fall  and  rise  in  the  right 
places;  to  draw  the  head  not  too  large  and  not 
too  small,  but  exactly  proportioned;  to  bring 
the  forepart  and  the  loins  into  symmetrical  rela- 
tions with  each  other;  to  make  the  neck  slope 
gently  into  the  fine  curve  of  the  back.     It  was 


Materialised  apparitions  255 

the  work  of  many  days  merely  to  copy  the  out- 
Hne  correctly.  Raphael  coiild  not  draw  a  horse; 
his  Attila  rides  on  a  rocking-horse.  One  is 
often  inclined  to  agree  with  Rousseau  when  he 
says  everything  which  comes  from  the  hand  of 
the  Creator  is  perfect,  but  when  it  falls  into  the 
hands  of  man  it  is  spoiled. 

Materialised  Apparitions. — I  have  never  seen 
it,  but  it  is  said  to  be  a  fact  that  in  hypnotic  seances 
those  who  are  present  produce  from  the  half- 
etherialised  substance  of  the  medium  a  kind  of 
being  which  is  visible  and  leads  an  apparitional 
life,  so  long  as  the  circle  keeps  together.  Such 
among  others  was  Professor  Crookes'  "Katie 
King." 

But  what  causes  me  to  believe  this  is  a  matter 
of  everyday  experience.  Men  create  their  idols 
out  of  nothing,  and  by  means  of  their  imagination 
fashion  their  fellow-men,  both  living  and  dead, 
into  something  quite  different  to  what  they  really 
are.  These  creations  naturally  partake  of  their 
own  substance  and  are  after  their  own  likeness. 
Sometimes  they  create  something  really  great, 
sometimes  a  monster,  a  demigod,  or  a  devil. 

We  often  see  that  hatred  against  one  person 
is,  so  to  speak,  polarised  and  converted  into  love 


256  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

towards  his  antagonist.  A  great  unpopularity  is, 
in  the  person  of  another,  changed  into  a  great 
popularity.  The  reward  which  should  have  been 
given  to  the  worthiest  is  given  to  the  unworthy, 
in  order  to  crush  the  deserving. 

At  the  award  of  a  famous  prize  one  who  was 
uninitiated  lately  asked:  "Why  did  not  X  get 
the  prize?" 

"Because  Y  was  to  have  it,"  was  the  answer. 

Fifteen  years  ago  a  very  remarkable  book  of  650 
pages  was  published.  It  obtained  no  notice  in  the 
press.  But  at  the  same  time  a  wretched  pamphlet 
received  all  the  praise  which  the  large  book  ought 
to  have  had.  When  I  read  the  reviews  of  the 
paltry  pamphlet  I  thought  I  was  reading  those  of 
the  book,  for  the  subject-matter  was  the  same. 

Recently  an  important  post  was  filled  up,  con- 
nected, let  us  say,  with  road-making  and  hydraulic 
structures.  The  person  who  received  it  was  a 
very  remarkable  man.  Public  opinion  (though 
not  private)  regarded  him  as  the  most  deserving 
and  suitable  candidate.  He  passed  for  a  distin- 
guished engineer,  thoroughly  up  in  his  profession, 
was  said  to  be  well  off,  an  able  organiser,  diligent 
and  considerate  towards  his  subordinates. 

Now  it  is  to  be  remarked  that  the  man  was 
nothing  of  all  that;  he  had  never  made  roads  or 


Materialised  Apparitions  257 

constructed  hydraulic  works,  but  left  that  to 
his  skilful  assistants;  he  did  not  know  his  profes- 
sion; he  neglected  what  he  had  in  hand;  he  was 
not  to  be  found  in  his  office,  for  he  played  cards 
and  spent  the  nights  in  carousing.  He  was  hard 
towards  his  employees,  managed  so  badly  that  he 
never  knew  the  state  of  his  affairs,  and  was  careless 
in  money  matters. 

How  then  had  he  come  to  be  elected?  Some 
said  he  had  been  chosen  in  order  to  punish  and 
humble  the  conceited  engineers  who  had  become 
impopular.  Others  thought  that  the  intention 
was  that  he  should  come  to  grief  and  be  ruined 
because  he  was  feared  and  hated. 

However  that  may  be,  he  was  a  materialised 
apparition  created  by  the  hate,  envy,  and  malig- 
nity of  the  crowd;  he  had  become  an  idea,  a 
lucky  rascal,  a  ruthless  man  whose  elevation  was 
necessary  in  order  to  still  the  tumult.  He  was 
like  a  crude  mass  of  ore  which  stood  for  four  hun- 
dred years  in  the  market-place  and  was  supposed 
to  represent  Justice,  but  was  really  the  counterfeit 
presentment  of  a  thievish  alderman  foisted  in  by 
the  burgomaster. 

The  Art  of  D3ring.— The  wish  for  power  is  said 
to  be  a  fundamental  condition  of  the  existence  of 
17 


258  i^ones  of  tKe  Spirit 

the  ego,  without  which  a  man  would  perish,  as  he 
could  not  resist  the  pressure  of  others.  So  we  were 
taught  by  the  seducing  spirits  of  our  youth.  But 
Swedenborg  says  the  thirst  for  power  comes 
from  hell,  and  Balzac  speaks  of  the  galley-slaves 
of  ambition  who  can  never  rest.  Dante  has  a  fine 
verse  regarding  the  fate  of  the  great  painters :  one 
must  retire  in  order  to  make  place  for  another; 
he  passes  into  the  shadow  and  is  forgotten. 

Even  when  it  is  unjust,  as  it  often  is,  one  must 
acquiesce  in  being  relegated  to  the  back-ground, 
for  men  get  tired  even  of  the  best  and  desire 
change.  A  great  name  becomes  oppressive,  is  felt 
as  a  tyranny,  and  hinders  others  from  also  making 
great  names  for  themselves.  Napoleon  and  Bis- 
marck saw  this  clearly,  for  both  said  beforehand 
that  the  world  would  give  a  sigh  of  relief  when  they 
were  gone.  But,  in  order  to  depart  content,  we 
require  religious  resignation,  complete  irrevocable 
withdrawal  from  the  world.  Such  as  Charles  the 
Fifth's  retirement  into  a  monastery.  To  receive 
a  "benefit"  on  one's  retirement  and  then  to  reap- 
pear on  the  stage  is  not  becoming.  If  one  con- 
siders oneself  dead  to  the  world  and  takes  no  notice 
of  it,  then  a  new  life  begins,  but  on  the  other  side ; 
it  is  a  much  more  peaceful  one,  for  it  is  the  resur- 
rection from  the  dead  already  here!     Beethoven 


THe  A.rt  of  Dyin^  259 

was  vexed  that  the  Viennese  were  ungrateful  and 
forgetful  when  Rossini  appeared  and  brought  again 
in  fashion  the  Italian  opera,  which  Beethoven, 
had  devoted  his  life  to  extirpate.  Beethoven 
however,  was  a  hard,  selfish,  and  very  proud  man, 
who  was  accordingly  literally  tormented  out  of  life, 
in  great  matters  and  in  small.  Increasing  deaf- 
ness, a  disagreeable  lawsuit,  a  mad  young  relative, 
domestic  scandal,  illnesses  troubled  his  last  years; 
he  had  even  to  be  exposed  to  the  undeserved  ridi- 
cule of  underlings.  Thus,  well  prepared,  he  turned 
his  back  on  life,  and  departed  from  all  without 
missing  anything. 

So  it  should  be,  in  order  that  nothing  should  bind 
one  either  with  longing  or  with  hope,  in  order 
that  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  one  may  not 
look  back  but  go  straight  fon\^ard. 

The  object  of  the  trials  of  old  age  is  to  adjust 
accounts,  to  finish  up  unsettled  affairs,  to  see 
through  the  cheat  of  life,  and  to  become  weary  of 
the  incomplete,  so  that  no  backward  longings 
may  disturb  the  repose  of  the  grave. 

Can  Philosophy  Bring  any  Blessing  to  Mankind? 

— Such  was  the  title  of  a  pamphlet  written  in  the 
'sixties  by  a  teacher  of  philosophy,  Pontus  Wikner. 
The  question  was  justified;  how  it  was  answered 


26o  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

I  do  not  remember,  but  the  answer  must  have 
been  evasive,  for  the  writer  of  the  pamphlet  was  a 
professor.  If  he  had  said  that  all  philosophy, 
especially  systematic  philosophy,  was  rubbish, 
his  career  would  have  been  at  an  end. 

When,  in  1870  at  the  university,  I  wished  to 
study  aesthetics,  the  professor  of  the  subject  sent 
me  to  the  lecturer  in  order  to  take  lessons.  As 
he  sat  there  and  talked  for  hours  by  the  light  of 
a  composite  candle,  I  tried  to  decipher  the  fur- 
rowed brow  of  the  pale  man  and  to  ascertain 
whether  he  really  understood  what  he  taught,  or 
whether  he  only  taught  by  rote.  But  I  could  not 
see  through  him  and  I  despaired,  for  I  understood 
nothing,  and  I  cannot  learn  by  heart  what  I  do 
not  understand.     That  would  be  humbug. 

About  forty  years  later  I  met  the  professor 
who  was  now  pensioned,  and  consequently  no 
longer  a  member  of  the  college  of  augurs.  Then 
I  asked  him  whether  he  had  ever  mastered 
aesthetics? 

"Good  gracious,  no!  That  is  why  I  sent  you 
to  the  lecturer." 

"Did  he  understand  them  then?" 

"  I  don't  think  so.     But  he  had  a  good  memory. " 

Then  after  all  it  was  not  my  fault,  and  I  was 
not  more  stupid  than  the  rest. 


Can  PHilosopKy  Brin^  any  Blessing?  261 

Anyone  who  reads  a  short  history  of  philosophy, 
and  observes  how  one  system  replaces  and  refutes 
another,  must  be  inclined  to  say,  "  Surely  it  is  time 
to  make  an  end  of  this  drivel!"  For  the  whole 
history  of  philosophy  proves  that  thought  cannot 
solve  these  problems,  or  that  they  cannot  be  solved 
by  constructing  a  system  of  philosophy.  The 
few  philosophers,  on  the  other  hand,  who  have 
limited  themselves  to  reflections  on  the  variegated 
medley  of  life  as  seen  in  man,  politics,  and  nature, 
have  been  of  some  use,  but  they  are  hardly  counted 
philosophers.  One  can  read  fragments  of  Plato 
with  interest,  and  also  the  unappreciated  Schopen- 
hauer, especially  in  his  least-valued  work  Parerga 
and  Paralipomena,  but  not  in  his  systematic 
treatise  The  World  as  Will  and  Idea.  Kierke- 
gaard is  not  regarded  as  a  philosopher,  nor  are 
Feuerbach  and  his  pupil  Nietzsche,  but  they  are 
extraordinarily  instructive.  All  who  construct  an 
empty  system  with  facts  are  fools.  Such  is  Bos- 
trom,  who  tries  to  subtilise  conceptions,  analyse 
ideas,  and  classify  and  arrange  God,  man,  and 
human  life  under  heads. 

The  history  of  philosophy  is  the  history  of 
errors,  the  history  of  lying,  for  nearly  all  philo- 
sophers are  disguised  rebels  against  God  and 
opponents  of  religion.     Philosophy  is  a  history 


262  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

of  falsehood,  and  since  it  has  demonstrated  its 
own  absurdity,  all  professorships  of  philosophy- 
should  be  abolished.  For  a  Christian  state  frus- 
trates its  own  aims  and  is  foolish  if  it  supports  a 
teacher  of  error  and  falsehood. 

If  for  once  in  a  way  a  philosopher  is  religious, 
people  give  him  the  contemptuous  name  of 
"  mystic, "  although  very  few  know  what  mysticism 
is. 

In  one  professorial  chair  sits  an  Hegelian  and 
preaches  Hegel's  pantheism  as  the  truth,  and  in 
another  sits  a  Bostromian  and  pulls  Hegel  to 
pieces.  But  the  student  must  be  examined  by 
both,  and  give  his  adherence  to  both  systems 
together.  That  is  the  higher  education,  academic 
culture,  and  learning  in  its  glory ! 

The  mass  of  people  believe  that  all  which  is 
difficult  to  understand  is  deep,  but  it  is  not  so. 
What  is  difficult  to  understand  is  immature,  vague, 
and  often  false.  The  highest  wisdom  is  simple, 
clear,  and  goes  through  the  brain  straight  into 
the  heart.  Set  a  philosopher  on  the  grave  where 
his  earthly  hopes  lie  buried,  and  let  him  discourse 
of  Herbert  Spencer  and  the  blastoderm!  Place 
a  philosopher  in  the  Privy  Council,  and  let  him 
have  a  share  in  the  conduct  of  the  state!  Ask  a 
philosopher  to  write  a  drama,  to  paint  a  picture, 


GoetHe  on  tHe  Dible  263 

or  even  to  teach  school-children,  and  he  is  useless. 
"Philosopher"  is  synonymous  with  superannuated 
donkey !     Away  with  him ! 

Goethe  on  the  Bible. — Eckermann  had  bought 
an  English  Bible,  and  when  he  complained  that 
the  Apocryphal  books  were  missing,  Goethe  said 
among  other  things:  "It  is  superfluous  to  raise 
the  question  of  authentic  or  unauthentic  in  matters 
of  the  Bible.  I  regard  the  four  gospels  as  com- 
pletely genuine,  for  in  them  shines  the  reflected 
splendour  of  the  lofty  personality  of  Christ,  as 
divine  as  anything  which  has  appeared  on  earth. 
If  any  one  asks  me  whether  I  find  it  possible 
to  pay  him  worship  and  reverence,  I  answer, 
'Certainly!'" 

Then  there  follows  some  Voltairian  talk  about 
the  sun  and  religious  relics,  about  priestcraft  and 
bishops'  incomes,  which  belonged  to  the  bad  tone 
of  the  time.  These  stupid  free-thinkers  could 
not  imagine  how  three  could  be  equivalent  to 
one,  and  therefore  they  stumbled  at  the  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity.  Did  they  not  know  that  three 
thirds  are  equivalent  to  one,  and  that  one  is 
equivalent  to  three  thirds?  Or  was  their  reason 
so  darkened  by  pride?  Or  did  they  not  know 
that  spiritii^l  things  must  be  spiritually  judged; 


264  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

that  the  Highest  cannot  be  reached  by  the  highest 
mathematics?  For  neither  Laplace  nor  Poincare, 
who  busied  themselves  with  the  "Mecanique 
celeste, "  reached  heaven,  much  less  God. 

"  Now  we  Can  Fly  too  I  Hurrah !  " — A  friend 
of  my  youth,  who  two  weeks  ago  died  in  a  distant 
place,  wrote  on  his  last  postcard  to  me  these  words, 
"Now  we  can  fly  too!  Hurrah!"  He  was  a 
pagan,  i.  e.  an  atheist,  and  this  last  word  "Hur- 
rah!" was  an  expression  of  scorn  and  a  threat 
against  heaven. 

Every  gift  of  God  is  regarded  by  the  pagans 
as  a  victory  over  God,  They  always  think  that 
they  have  made  the  discovery,  and  they  still 
build  at  the  Tower  of  Babel,  the  truth  of  whose 
story  they  deny,  for  they  are  lying  spirits. 

When  the  pious  Franklin  drew  down  lightning 
with  his  damp  twine,  he  trembled  and  thanked 
God  that  He  had  not  killed  him.  But  when 
the  godless  physicists  imitated  Franklin,  and 
wished  to  store  the  lightning  in  laboratory  bottles, 
they  were  slain.  People  do  indeed  make  light- 
ning-conductors nowadays,  but  they  are  not  al- 
ways efficacious  even  when  the  conduction  is 
right.  Only  imagine! — a  man  receives  a  gift,  and 
as    a   mark   of    gratitude   puts   out   his   tongue! 


The  Fall  and  Original  Sin  265 

Every  time  that  God  gives  something,  irreligious 
science  celebrates  a  triumph — that  is,  puts  out 
its  tongue! 

That  is  the  nature  of  science !  And  it  seems  as 
though  it  were  still  at  present  forbidden  to  touch 
the  tree  of  knowledge,  for  the  transgression  of  the 
prohibition  is  always  accompanied  by  ingratitude 
and  a  curse. 

The  Fall  and  Original  Sin. — In  these  times  when 
the  ape-morality  rules,  it  is  considered  up-to-date 
to  change  the  doctrine  of  vicarious  satisfaction 
for  that  of  heredity.  The  blame  for  our  faults 
is  put  on  our  parents,  especially,  as  might  be 
expected,  on  the  father.  But  when  the  father  was 
alive,  he  put  the  blame  on  his  father,  and  so  on 
till  we  come  to  our  first  parents.  That  is  indeed 
just  like  what  the  Bible  teaches  about  the  Fall  and 
original  sin,  and  ought  to  confirm  the  teaching  of 
religion,  but  of  course  that  cannot  be! 

That  is  the  doctrine  of  heredity.  But  whence 
comes  it?  Where  is  the  starting-point?  Since 
everyone  nowadays  feels  burdened  with  evil 
impulses  and  disease  germs  which  he  has  inherited, 
and  all  our  predecessors  have  felt  the  same,  the 
only  thing  left  is  to  lay  the  blame  on  our  first 
parents. 


266  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

How  then  is  one  to  get  rid  of  guilt — the  con- 
sciousness of  guilt  and  the  evil  impulses? 

Christ  answers  more  simply  than  the  theologians 
who  represent  the  work  of  grace  as  an  examination 
course.  "To-day  shalt  thou  be  with  Me  in 
Paradise,"  He  said  to  the  thief  who  confessed 
that  he  suffered  for  his  evil  deeds ;  but  He  did  not 
say  so  to  the  other  who  reviled  Him. 

Generally  speaking,  one  should  take  one's 
doctrine  straight  from  the  Gospels,  which  are 
simpler,  greater,  diviner  than  other  writings. 
Devotional  books  are  like  the  higher  mathematics, 
mixed,  complicated,  and  affected  with  human 
weaknesses. 

The  Gospel.— All  boast  of  the  "Gospel,"  but 
they  mean  this  joyful  message — the  abrogation 
of  civic  laws  and  the  opening  of  the  jails ;  in  a  word, 
immunity  from  punishment  for  themselves  and 
more  stringent  regulations  for  others.  That  was 
the  Renaissance  morality  preached  at  the  conclu- 
sion of  the  Middle  Ages  as  at  the  end  of  our  century. 
They  wished  to  enlighten  mankind  by  proclaiming 
that  everything  is  lawful  (against  others),  and 
that  if  one  only  "understood"  men,  one  would 
forgive  them.  "He  does  not  understand,"  was 
the  formula  in  common  use.     Were  I  now  to  enu- 


XKe  Gospel  267 

merate  all  the  victims  of  this  gospel,  which  we  had 
to  learn,  people  would  cry  "  Scandal ! "  Then  they 
would  proceed  to  explain  the  tragedies  on  natural 
grounds,  such  as  neurasthenia,  infection,  heredity 
(but  not  from  our  first  parents) ;  the  unfortunate 
Englishman, '  they  say,  was  wrongfully  imprisoned, 
because  society  consists  of  hypocrites ;  not  because 
of  his  own  sin,  for  it  was  not  his  own  sin:  there 
is  no  sin. 

Every  suggestion  that  there  are  misdemeanours 
which  draw  down  the  unpleasant  consequences, 
which  are  called  punishments,  is  taken  ill. 

Five  years  ago  I  heard  one  of  these  evangelists 
exclaim,  "Morality!  that  is  a  word  which  I 
cannot  take  in  my  mouth."  This  saying  was 
often  quoted. 

But  shortly  afterwards  the  same  gentleman  set 
heaven  and  hell  in  motion  because  a  pupil  had 
used  a  statement  in  one  of  his  lectures  to  base 
a  treatise  on.  This  innocent  proceeding  the 
"evangelist"  stigmatised  as  theft,  and  he  wished 
to  annihilate  the  thief. 

The  young  man  answered  quite  rightly  that 
in  that  case  people  ought  to  be  punished  for 
"stealing"  their  knowledge  out  of  manuals  with- 
out acknowledgment,  or  that  if  they  gave  chapter 

'  Oscar  Wilde. 


268  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

and  verse  for  every  statement,  a  treatise  would 
look  like  this:  "Sum,  'I  am'  (Rabes'  Grammar, 
6th  edition,  Stockholm,  1858),  called  an  auxiliary 
verb  {Sundelin  Schwedische  Sprachlehre,  Orebro, 
1 901),  which  indicates  the  passive  voice  (Sjoberg, 
Logic,  Upsala,  1895),"  and  so  on. 

This  gentleman  was  a  very  severe  moralist, 
although  he  could  not  take  the  word  morality  in 
his  mouth. 

Religious  Heathen. — Hardly  anywhere  are  there 
such  rehgious  men  as  the  Orientals.  Five  times 
a  day  the  muezzin  calls  from  each  minaret  in 
eastern  lands:  "God  is  great!  I  bear  witness 
that  there  is  no  God  but  God !  I  bear  witness  that 
Muhammed  is  the  Apostle  of  God!  Come  to 
prayer!  Come  to  salvation !  God  is  great!  There 
is  no  God  but  God!"  Early  in  the  morning  they 
cry  in  addition,  "Prayer  is  better  than  sleep." 
On  the  streets  and  market-places,  in  the  shops  and 
inns,  everywhere  one  is  summoned  to  prayer. 

Is  it  not  impressive  to  see  a  whole  people,  of 
whom  not  one  is  ashamed  of  his  God — not  one! 
A  people  among  whom,  five  times  a  day,  this 
joyful  message  comes  from  the  Lord,  the  All- 
Merciful,  who  "has  not  forsaken  and  has  not 
repulsed  thee!"     And  is  it  not  uplifting  in  the 


IVeli^iovis  HeatHen  269 

midst  of  the  severe  and  squalid  tasks  of  every- 
day to  hear  a  voice  from  above  witnessing,  without 
attempting  to  convince,  that  God  is  God?  Any- 
thing so  perverse  and  stupid  as  free-thinking  and 
atheism  does  not  exist  in  the  Orient.  If  anyone 
attempted  to  assert  such  an  abominable  tenet  as 
the  non-existence  of  God,  he  would  be  imprisoned 
or  put  to  death.  And  if  anyone  came  and  tried 
to  close  the  mosques  .  .  .  but  no  one  comes,  for 
the  mosques  are  never  empty: 

"  By  the  splendour  of  the  day, 
By  the  darkness  of  the  night, 
Thy  Lord  hath  not  forsaken  thee. 
Neither  hath  He  repelled  thee." — Koran. 

That  is  the  implicit  and  childlike  faith  which 
Christian  heathen  called  "intolerance,"  "fanati- 
cism," and  so  on. 

The  Pleasure-Garden. — If  the  inexperienced 
man  knew  how  much  suffering  a  separation  be- 
tween a  married  pair  involves,  he  would  reflect 
before  taking  such  a  step.  The  two  souls  have  so 
grown  into  each  other,  that  the  dissolution  of  the 
duplex  personality  which  they  form  is  the  most 
painful  operation  possible.     It  is  a  kind  of  death. 

When  one  uproots  the  weeds  round  a  flower, 
the  flower  fades  away — partly  because  its  roots 


270  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

are  injured,  partly  because  it  has  been  deprived 
of  shade,  moisture,  and  support,  or  perhaps 
merely  companionship. 

The  sorrow  in  this  case  resembles  that  which 
follows  on  a  death,  but  is  not  so  uplifting  and 
ennobling.  The  image  of  the  separated  wife 
is  always  present  to  one's  eyes,  and  becomes 
idealised  in  memory;  ugly  traits  are  obliterated, 
one  begins  to  reproach  oneself,  there  is  a  painful 
emptiness  and  longing;  one's  soul  is  torn  in 
pieces  by  her  departure;  she  has  carried  off  its 
finest-fibred  roots,  and  one  feels  as  though  bleeding 
to  death.  One  can  no  more  exchange  common 
recollections.  The  loss  of  the  illusions  of  the 
first  springtide  of  love  shatters  one's  faith  in  every- 
thing. A  cry  of  mourning  rings  through  the 
universe  as  though  an  irreparable  crime  had  been 
committed,  such  as  the  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost. 
Love,  God's  creative  power,  the  sun's  warmth  that 
fills  the  heavens,  the  origin  of  life  has  ceased  to 
exist.  Chaos  and  darkness  resume  their  reign. 
It  is  a  spiritual  death,  without  comfort  and  with- 
out hope. 

Nevertheless  something  remains,  if  there  ever 
was  something  there.  And  though  both  may 
marry  again,  there  is  a  recollection  of  the  former 
tie.     It  cannot  be  as  though  it  had  not  been,  nor 


TKe  Pleasvire-Garden  271 

be  forgotten.  However  unpleasant  the  relation- 
ship may  have  been,  still  in  its  best  hours  it 
resembled  something  which  is  not  to  be  found  on 
earth.  In  its  glorious  beginning  it  was  a  Garden 
of  Eden,  such  a  heightening  of  existence  that  one 
felt  nearer  God.  That  was  no  optical  delusion,  but 
a  higher  reality.  Then  came  the  Fall  and  the 
expulsion.  But  the  memory  of  the  first  joy  re- 
mains, and  it  is  true  that  a  real  love  never  ends. 

People  ask  whether  it  continues  on  the  other 
side  even  when  inclination  has  "changed  its 
object."  Probably  some  of  it  remains,  but  in 
an  incomprehensible  way,  even  if  one  were  to  sup- 
pose that  the  personality  is  resolved  into  several 
"monads,"  of  which  one  seeks  a  similar  one,  and 
another  another;  and  what  is  called  love  can  here 
become  friendship. 

According  to  Plato's  doctrine  of  reminiscence 
and  the  reincarnation  theory  of  the  theosophists, 
one  might  believe  that  when  two  fall  in  love  it  is 
only  a  meeting  again.  And  all  the  beauty  which 
they  then  see  round  them  is  the  reflection  of  the 
memories  of  some  far  beautiful  land  where  they 
have  met  before,  but  which  they  now  remember 
for  the  first  time.  The  continual  illusions  of  love 
would  then  be  connected  with  experiences  on  the 
other  side,  which  now  come  up  in  memory  from  the 


272  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

side  where  all  is  completion  and  beauty.  Therefore 
we  have  such  a  terrible  awakening  from  our  dreams 
of  happiness  when  we  find  that  everything  down 
here  is  distorted,  everything  a  caricature,  even 
love  itself. 

The  Happiness  of  Love. — Even  though  earthly 
love  be  a  caricature  or  bad  copy  of  the  heavenly  it 
has  some  traits  of  resemblance  to  its  prototype. 
In  the  first  spring-days  of  love  there  are  elevated 
moments,  in  which  one  compassionates  other 
mortals  who  are  not  so  happy.  We  tremble  for 
our  blessedness,  finding  it  not  quite  just;  yet  it  is 
possible  even  to  wish  for  a  misfortune  to  rectify 
the  balance. 

There  was  a  dramatist  who  became  engaged, 
and  at  the  same  time  had  just  celebrated  his 
greatest  triumph  on  the  stage.  The  ground 
seemed  to  sway  under  his  feet,  the  air  caressed  his 
face,  men  paid  him  homage  on  the  streets;  he 
felt  hardly  on  earth,  as  he  was  beloved  by  the 
woman  whom  he  loved. 

Then  there  came  the  crash  of  a  failure!  All 
his  former  merits  were  forgotten;  he  was  called 
a  noodle  and  a  charlatan.  But  he  was  so  happy 
in  his  love  that  he  did  not  feel  the  blow.  He  felt, 
on  the  contrary,  an  inner  joy  that  misfortune  had 


Our  Best  reelings  273 

drawn  him  and  his  fiancee  closer  together;  he 
was  so  high  that  he  did  not  grudge  men  the  joy  of 
pulhng  him  down  a  Httle.  His  fame  had  begun 
to  bore  them;  now  that  he  was  down,  he  found 
sympathy,  while  formerly  he  had  been  the  object 
of  envy^ 

That  was  the  miracle  of  love!  It  made  him 
so  little  self-seeking,  that  on  behalf  of  men  he 
suffered  under  his  oppressive  fame  and  his  great 
happiness. 

Our  Best  Feelings. — Life  is  not  beautiful;  on 
its  animal,  domestic,  and  business  sides  it  brings 
us  into  so  many  ugly  situations.  Life  is  cynical 
since  it  ridicules  our  nobler  feelings  and  flings  scorn 
on  our  faith.  Therefore  it  is  difficult  to  use  fine 
words  in  the  stress  of  every  day;  one  hides  one's 
better  feelings  in  order  not  to  expose  them  to  ridi- 
cule. One  might  therefore  say  that  men  are 
partly  better  than  they  appear  to  be.  One  is 
forced  to  play  the  sceptic  in  order  not  to  perish, 
and  one  is  made  cynical  by  the  cynicism  of  life. 
It  is  therefore  unjust  to  call  men  hypocrites  in  a 
bad  sense,  for  most  men,  on  the  contrary,  make 
themselves  out  worse  than  they  are. 

When  a  man  writes  a  letter  to  an  intimate 
friend,  or  to  the  woman  he  loves,  he  puts  on  his 
18 


274  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

festive  dress;  that  is  befitting.  And  in  the  quiet 
letter,  on  the  white  paper,  he  expresses  his  best 
feeHngs.  The  tongue  and  the  spoken  word  are 
so  vulgarised  by  everyday  use,  that  they  cannot 
say  aloud  the  beautiful  things  which  the  pen  says 
silently. 

It  is  not  posing  or  attitudinising,  it  is  not  fals- 
ity when  one  exhibits  in  correspondence  a  better 
soul  than  in  everyday  life.  The  lover  is  not 
untrue  in  his  love-letters.  He  does  not  make 
himself  out  better  than  he  is;  he  becomes  better, 
and  is  'so  for  the  passing  moment.  He  is  true 
at  such  moments,  the  greatest  which  life  grants 
us! 

Blood-Fraternity. — Blood-fraternity  used  to  be 
sealed  with  a  sacred  ceremonial — the  mingling 
of  blood.  "The  life  of  the  soul  is  in  the  blood," 
says  the  Old  Testament;  and  it  is  probable  that 
there  was  something  mysterious  in  it  which  we  do 
not  understand,  as  in  all  sacraments,  which  we 
understand  as  little. 

An  old  saga  tells  us  that  Torger  and  Tormod 
had  mingled  their  blood  and  had  fought  battles 
and  won  victories  together.  But  one  day,  when 
Torger  was  intoxicated  by  success,  he  carelessly 
remarked  to  his  brother,  "Which  of  us,  do  you 


Blood-Fraternity  275 

think,  would  prove  the  better  man  if  we  ventured 
on  a  conflict?" 

"I  don't  know,"  answered  his  brother,  "but 
I  know  that  your  question  makes  an  end  of  our 
living  together.  I  will  not  remain  with  you  any 
more." 

"I  did  not  seriously  mean  that  we  should  try 
our  strength  on  one  another." 

"  But  it  came  into  your  mind,  since  you  said  it. " 

He  departed,  and  their  tie  of  brotherhood  was 
at  an  end.  The  narrator  adds,  "The  bond  of  their 
friendship  was  so  fragile,  that  it  could  not  bear  the 
touch  of  an  over-hasty  thought." 

Marriage  is  a  blood-bond  and  more — it  is  a 
sacred  transaction.  It  is  so  tender  and  so  fragile, 
that  a  hasty  word — a  joke,  as  one  calls  it — can 
make  an  end  of  it  for  the  whole  of  life.  It  is  no 
use  afterwards  to  say,  "It  was  only  a  jest."  We 
have  the  answer  of  the  mediaeval  Norse  poet 
Tormod,  "It  came  into  your  mind."  "Long 
years  must  pay  for  the  wrong  of  a  second. " 

And  then,  "Which  of  us  two  do  you  think 
would  prove  the  master?"  As  soon  as  a  married 
pair  conceive  their  relation  as  a  struggle  for  power, 
while  it  is  just  the  contrary,  hell  comes  into  the 
house.  The  woman  has  an  inclination  to  rule. 
But  if,  in  her  defence,  I  say  that  this  inclination 


276  ^ones  of  tKe  Spirit 

is  her  way  of  reacting  against  the  suppressing, 
not  oppressive,  man  (for  such  a  one  I  have  never 
seen),  I  hope  I  shall  not  have  to  repent  it. 

"If  we  ventured  on  a  conflict!"  Yes,  then  it 
is  as  if  one  drew  a  weapon  on  oneself,  or  as  if  a 
kingdom  were  divided.  Every  blow  which  one 
deals,  strikes  one's  own  heart. 

Cicero  says  that  friendship  is  only  possible 
between  friendly  equals.  Swedenborg  says  that 
marriage  is  impossible  between  godless  people. 
I  am  convinced  of  it;  for  without  contact  with 
God,  who  is  the  Fountain-head  of  love,  no  stream 
of  illumination  can  flow  from  the  Eternal.  I 
have  described  the  marriage  of  godless  people.  I 
have  suffered  for  doing  so,  but  I  do  not  regret  it, 
and  do  not  recall  a  word.  It  is  as  I  said.  The 
devout  do  not  describe  their  marriages,  and  they 
write  neither  dramas  nor  romances;  literary  his- 
tory which  mostly  deals  with  irreligious  books, 
should  take  notice  of  that. 

The  Power  of  Love. — In  France  there  lives  a 
marquis  who  is  an  occultist.  Endowed  by  nature 
with  a  sensitive  type  of  soul,  refined  by  education, 
protected  by  wealth  against  the  brutality  of  life, 
purified  by  suffering  and  renunciation,  he  entered 
into  contact  with  the  higher  forms  of  existence, 


TKe  Po-wer  of  Love  277 

which  the  theosophists  call  "the  astral  plane." 
His  sensitiveness  was  elaborated  to  such  a  pitch, 
that  he  became  a  medium,  and  could  enter  into 
touch  with  friends  at  a  distance. 

Then  he  met  a  woman  belonging  to  the  same 
spiritual  sphere,  a  transparent  airy  figure,  whose 
steps  were  inaudible,  whose  words  were  rather  to 
be  apprehended  than  heard. 

This  married  pair  were  so  united,  that  each 
was,  as  it  were,  born  in  the  other.  He  carried 
her  heart  about  in  him  literally.  When,  on  a 
journey  to  some  relatives,  she  was  frightened 
by  a  shying  horse  and  had  a  fit  of  palpitations, 
he  felt  it  in  his  breast,  and  his  heart  stood  still 
for  a  moment  when  she  fainted.  Similarly,  when 
he  once  pricked  himself  with  a  needle,  she  felt  it. 
They  lived  in  each  other,  were  each  other's 
children  and  each  other's  parents. 

Then  she  died.  He  nearly  died  too,  did  die 
perhaps,  and  rose  again.  And  now  he  speaks 
with  her,  hears  her  voice  in  his  heart,  literally, 
not  in  a  figure. 

I  do  not  doubt  it  at  all,  for  I  have  had  a  similar 
experience,  and  much,  much  more. 

The  Box  on  the  Ear. — I  was  thirty  years  old, 
and  life  was  mine  for  the  first  time  after  I  had  lain 


278  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

in  the  potato-cellar  and  shot  out  white  rootlets 
instead  of  growing.  I  had  secured  a  home,  wife, 
and  child,  and  was  my  own  master.  After  I  had 
done  the  day's  task  I  used  to  invite  friends  in; 
I  call  them  "friends "  because  they  got  on  well  with 
me  and  I  with  them.  We  did  no  harm ;  we  played 
like  children  with  words  and  sounds ;  we  disguised 
ourselves  in  order  to  look  more  fine ;  we  composed 
and  delivered  speeches.  I  think  no  one  would 
grudge  me  these  hours. 

But  soon  there  was  something  of  satiety  in 
it;  we  had  wounded  the  dignity  of  sacred  sleep; 
the  wine  turned  sour  in  the  glasses.  One  night 
towards  morning,  in  a  cheerful  circle,  at  a  full 
table,  my  high  spirits  broke  bounds,  since  fortune 
had  given  me  everything  at  once,  and  I  uttered 
a  word  which  a  married  man  should  not  utter.  I 
immediately  received  a  box  on  the  ear  from  a 
strong  hand.  I  found  it  quite  natural,  and  con- 
tinued what  I  was  saying,  but  in  another  and 
better  tone.  No  one  took  notice  of  what  had 
happened;  all  went  on  as  before;  and  we  all 
parted  as  friends. 

He  who  gave  me  the  buffet  was  a  bachelor  of 
not  superfine  morals.  If  he  had  disapproved  my 
point  of  view,  it  must  have  been  a  very  low  one. 

For  several  days  I  had  a  blue  mark  on  my  cheek. 


Saul,  A.fter"wards  Called  Paul       279 

My  wife  said  nothing,  only  one  of  my  friends  let 
fall  a  remark,  "How  could  you  put  up  with  that? " 
"I  must  have  felt  that  I  deserved  it!     Other- 
wise I  cannot  explain  it." 

'  Now,  when  I  am  sixty  years  old,  I  wish  that 
I  had  received  several  such  boxes  on  the  ear,  for 
the  first  was  no  use.  Recognising  that,  I  feel 
that  it  was  a  great  piece  of  good-fortune  that  I 
was  able  to  confess  it.  And  now  I  should  like 
to  live  twenty  years  more,  in  order  to  forget  my 
slowness  to  learn,  with  its  sad  consequences. 

Saul,  Afterwards  Called  Paul. — Saul  was  stand- 
ing by  when  Stephen  was  stoned,  or,  at  any  rate, 
kept  the  clothes  of  those  who  stoned  him.  He  also 
persecuted  Christ  and  the  Christians.  The  ques- 
tion is  often,  almost  constantly  asked,  "Had  he  a 
right,  later  on,  to  be  severe  against  those  who  threw 
the  stones?  "  One  can  only  answer  with  an  uncon- 
ditional "Yes,"  for  he  wished  to  make  good  the 
wrong  he  had  done;  and  it  was  his  duty  to  speak 
with  his  new  tongue.  But  he  is  honourable  and 
courageous  enough  to  remind  his  hearers  that 
he  does  not  regard  himself  as  an  exception.  He 
calls  himself  "the  chief  of  sinners,"  and  says, 
"  I  thank  Him  who  has  enabled  me,  who  was  form- 
erly a  blasphemer,  and  persecutor,  and  evil  doer; 


28o  Zones  of  tHe  Spirit 

but  mercy  was  shown  to  me  because  I  did  it 
ignorantly  in  unbelief. " 

How  entirely  Paul  felt  himself  to  be  quite  a 
different  person  to  the  dead  Saul  one  sees  from 
his  tremendous  severity  against  the  two  blas- 
phemers, Hymenaeus  and  Alexander,  whom  he 
delivered  over  to  Satan,  "that  they  might  learn 
not  to  blaspheme." 

What  is  to  be  understood  by  these  terrible 
words,  I  have  explained  in  the  Inferno.  He  who 
has  not  understood  it  there,  can  obtain  a  clearer 
explanation  in  the  asylums,  where  there  is  no 
rest,  no  peace,  only  terror  and  despair.  These 
cannot  be  cured  by  cold  or  by  warm  water  baths, 
for  it  is  a  sickness  of  the  soul,  often  called  Para- 
noia, because  the  senses  see  what  is  not  to  be 
seen  every  day. 

A  Scene  from  Hell. — The  man  who  had  been 
separated  from  his  wife  went  one  day  to  fetch 
his  little  six-year-old  daughter  from  her  mother. 
They  meant  to  go  for  a  walk,  look  at  the  shop- 
windows,  and  buy  toys  only  for  an  hour.  They 
were  to  meet  before  the  mother's  house.  The 
little  one  came,  half-sad,  half -joyful,  with  a  slightly 
roguish  look. 

This  street,  this  street,  this  house,  these  stairs 


A.  Scene  from  Hell  281 

which  only  a  short  time  ago  he  had  hurried  up 
with  his  hands  full  of  presents  in  order  for  an 
hour  long  to  see  his  beautiful  home,  and  the 
best  which  life  has  to  show — the  young  maidenly 
mother  putting  her  child  to  bed!  The  two  to- 
gether! One  still  more  beautiful  than  the  other! 
And  made  more  beautiful  by  love,  or  a  friendship 
which  has  sprung  up  in  painful  solitude. 

He  took  the  little  girl's  hand,  and  they  went 
down  the  now  darkened  street.  Then  the  child 
turned  round,  and  said  aloud,  "Mamma  is  com- 
ing behind  us." 

Why  did  he  not  turn  round,  but  went  on  still 
faster,  drawing  the  child  with  him? 

Ask  the  pains  of  seven  long  years,  which  had 
robbed  him  of  his  self-esteem  so  that  he  no  longer 
believed  he  possessed  the  poor  solitary  heart  that 
followed  him  contritely  and  longed  for  recon- 
ciliation. 

The  child  turned  round  yet  again,  and  several 
times,  as  though  it  were  a  plot  laid  in  all  friend- 
liness, and  the  man  felt  by  the  throbbing  of 
the  little  hand  how  its  heart  beat  in  hope  and 
expectation. 

But  he  went  straight  forward,  for  he  did  not 
believe  any  more  in  the  possibility  of  a  return, 
and  he  did  not  dare  to  encounter  a  scornful  smile, 


282  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

or  a  proud,  sharp  word.  He  turned  down  side- 
streets,  but  he  felt  that  she  followed.  Who  suf- 
fered most  during  this  five  minutes  in  hell,  in  this 
interplay  of  feelings  ?  The  child  with  her  beautiful 
hopes  which  were  disappointed;  the  mother  with 
her  injured  self-esteem,  as  she  sought  on  the  street 
what  she  had  thrown  away;  or  the  man  with  un- 
certainty and  doubt  in  one  half  of  his  heart,  and 
in  the  other  the  immeasurable  grief  of  being  obliged 
to  hurt  the  innocent  little  child-heart?  But  while 
it  was  actually  going  on,  he  felt  almost  nothing, 
for  he  was  sttmned  by  the  shock.  Not  till  the 
next  day  did  he  feel  the  pain  in  his  heart,  and  the 
longer  the  time  that  elapsed,  the  more  that  pain 
increased. 

The  Jewel-casket  or  his  Better  Half. — When  a 
man  during  the  first  days  of  love  has  deposited 
the  best  and  fairest  part  of  his  soul  with  the  woman 
he  loves,  he  has  laid  up  a  treasure  with  her.  If 
then  he  sinks  below  the  heavy  burdens  of  everyday 
life  and  loses  his  ornaments,  he  generally  finds 
them  again  with  her;  she  has  kept  and  guarded 
them  (not  always,  however). 

At  such  moments  he  calls  her  his  better  half, 
and  such  she  is.  She  can,  at  the  right  time, 
return  to  him  a  beautiful  thought  or  word,  which 


Je-wel-casKet  or  His  Better  Half    283 

he  has  given  her  once;  then  he  is  ashamed  and 
laments  over  his  fall.  And  when  he  sees  his 
earlier  better  self  in  her,  he  realises  how  low  he 
has  sunk,  while  she  still  stands  on  the  clear  clifE. 
Then  he  looks  up  to  her,  cries  out  for  help,  and 
when  she  reaches  him  her  hand,  he  is  raised,  and 
he  thanks  her  for  having  saved  him. 

Paul  explains  this  relation  between  man  and 
wife,  which  is  so  often  misunderstood  and  really 
difficult  to  understand.  "For  in  the  Lord,  neither 
is  the  man  without  the  woman,  nor  the  woman 
without  the  man;  for  as  the  woman  is  from  the 
man,  so  also  is  the  man  by  the  woman,  but  all  is 
of  God." 

Therefore  in  a  true  marriage  neither  the  hus- 
band nor  the  wife  appear  separate,  but  both  regard 
themselves,  and  are  regarded  by  others,  as  one 
being.  If  one  receives  any  good  from  the  other, 
the  recipient  should  thank,  and  the  giver  also 
because  he  was  able  to  give.  They  thank  each 
other  because  they  are  one  being,  and  the  inter- 
change of  gifts  is  continuous  and  unceasing,  so  that 
they  cannot  distinguish  between  giving  and  taking. 

Therefore  a  true  marriage  is  indissoluble;  it 
cannot  suffer  severance,  for  what  it  possesses  is 
not  alienable,  it  is  common;  it  is  a  spiritual 
property  which  cannot  be  sold  or  bought. 


284  Zones  of  the  Spirit 

But  in  the  rough  tumult  of  Hfe  the  man  loses 
his  ideal  part  sooner  than  the  woman,  who  sits 
sheltered  by  the  warm  hearth  of  the  well-protected 
home.  There  she  can  guard  his  jewel-casket  for 
him,  and  if  she  does  it  faithfully,  he  will  always 
look  up  to  her,  as  to  his  better  self. 

The  Mummy-Coffin. — Seven  years  of  marriage 
had  passed ;  they  had  not  tended  their  lamp,  but 
it  smoked  so  that  everything  in  the  beautiful 
home  was  blackened.  Now  each  sits  in  their  own 
comer  of  the  dwelling,  because  they  cannot  look 
each  other  in  the  eyes.  They  lament  each  other 
as  dead,  and  miss  each  other  like  lost  children. 

Then  he  opens  a  drawer  and  takes  out  a  little 
box.  A  scent  of  fresh  roses  streams  into  the  room, 
although  it  comes  from  dry  rose-leaves  pressed 
between  sheets  of  paper. 

Those  are  her  letters  which  she  wrote  during 
her  engagement  seven  years  ago.  How  beautiful 
it  all  is:  the  paper  with  its  fine,  still  unbleached 
lavender  tint  and  gold  borders,  just  like  the 
wedding-breakfast  glasses;  the  envelopes  care- 
fully folded  like  the  embroidered  cushion-cover 
of  the  cradle;  the  letters  themselves  in  beautiful 
rows  of  gentle  words  from  beautiful  lips  which 
smile  gracefully. 


In  the  Attic  285 

Beauty  and  love  in  thoughts  and  feelings — there 
he  had  found  her  again  in  the  little  box  embalmed 
with  rose-leaves  and  violets. 

But  now  she  is  dead,  and  he  weeps! 

And  at  the  other  end  of  the  house  she  sits  over 
her  little  mummy-coffin  and  speaks  with  her  be- 
loved dead,  and  weeps. 

Lost  for  ever!     For  ever! 

In  the  Attic. — Only  three  years  had  passed 
since  his  marriage,  and  now  the  storm  had  carried 
away  all — his  wife  and  child.  He  had  occasion 
to  go  up  to  the  attic  to  fetch  something  which  had 
been  put  away  there.  So  he  came  up  to  this  room, 
where  it  always  rustled  and  creaked,  and  cats  slunk 
about,  and  the  viscera  of  the  house,  so  to  speak, 
were  visible  in  beams  and  chimney,  where  there 
were  rust  and  soot  and  hanging  cobwebs.  He 
unfastened  the  padlock.  There  lay  all  the  flotsam 
and  jetsam  after  the  wreck.  It  was  too  late 
to  turn  back,  and  he  remained.  There  was  the 
canopy  of  their  marriage-bed,  with  green  silk  and 
gilt-brass  ornaments.  There  was  the  cradle  of 
the  little  one,  and  the  six  milk-bottles  which  the 
mother  always  used  to  wash  with  her  small  hands 
in  the  ice-cold  water;  all  the  flower- vases  and 
glasses  which  came  into  the  house  on  the  wed- 


286  Zones  of  the  Spirit 

ding  evening,  when  the  table  was  laid  in  the 
hall. 

There  stood  the  basket  once  filled  with  roses, 
which  she  had  received  on  her  engagement,  which 
had  afterwards  become  a  work-basket.  There 
were  withered  bouquets,  laurel-wreaths,  and  even 
books,  presents  from  him  at  Christmas  and  on 
birthdays,  with  beautiful  inscriptions.    .    .    . 

But  there  were  also  prehistoric  articles:  pieces 
of  furniture  belonging  to  her  girlhood  which  she 
had  brought  into  the  new  home — a  Japanese  um- 
brella adorned  with  chrysanthemums  and  golden 
pheasants,  a  small  carpet,  a  flower-stand.  .  .  . 

But  why  did  all  these  relics  lie  here  in  the  dust 
and  soot,  and  not  downstairs  with  him  who 
cherished  those  memories?  Was  it  that  he  did 
not  dare  to  see  them  every  day,  or  did  not  wish 
to? 

Then  his  eyes  fell  on  a  little  toy  cupboard, 
which  lay  in  a  paper-basket.  There  occurred  to 
his  mind  the  faint  recollection  of  a  moment  like 
a  Christmas  evening,  a  child's  eyes,  little  white 
milk  teeth,  the  first  musical-box  which  the  Httle 
one  played  to  the  Christmas-tree,  the  rocking- 
horse,  and  her  dolls  Rosa  and  Brita. 

He  opened  the  toy  cupboard;  it  contained  no 
musical-box,  but   a  phonograph,  very  small  and 


The  Sculptor  287 

simple,  a  toy  which  could  only  utter  a  single 
word!  He  did  not  remember  which.  The  key 
lay  close  by;  he  wound  it  up  and  set  it  going. 
At  first  it  hummed  like  a  bee;  it  did  not  sting, 
however,  but  whispered  the  only  word  it  could, 
"Darling!" 

And  in  her  voice!  Yes,  she  had  spoken  it  into 
the  phonograph,  though  he  had  forgotten  it, 

"Darling!" 

Then  he  cried  to  God,  then  he  raged  against 
fate,  and  then  he  fell  to  the  ground!  And  as 
he  lay  there  he  could  only  lament,  "If  they  were 
at  least  only  dead!    If  .    .    .  " 

For  they  were  not  dead.     They  lived. 

That  was  the  thing  which  could  not  be  altered 
nor  atoned  for,  and  all  these  things  were  not  relics ; 
they  were  the  flotsam  and  jetsam  of  a  wreck. 

The  Sculptor. — Even  when  a  man  has  found  a 
masterpiece  of  creation  in  his  wife,  he  still  tries  to 
improve  away  little  faults  in  design  and  colour,  in 
order  to  make  his  work  of  art  as  free  from  faults 
as  possible.  His  little  wife  does  not  always  under- 
stand that,  and  often  becomes  irritable. 

"You  only  see  faults  in  me." 

"On  the  contrary,  you  are  for  me  the  most 
beautiful  that  exists,   but   I  want  to  have  you 


288  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

perfect.  You  should,  for  example,  never  be 
angry,  for  then  your  beautiful  eyes  grow  ugly, 
and  I  suffer.  You  must  not  dress  in  verdigris- 
colour,  for  that  does  not  suit  you,  and  you  look 
poisonous,  so  that  I  turn  my  looks  away."  And 
so  on. 

Eating  is  not  beautiful,  and  to  watch  one's 
darling  stowing  away  food  in  her  beautiful  mouth, 
which  ought  to  speak  beautiful  words,  smile  be- 
witchingly,  and  purse  up  her  tender  lips  to  a 
kind  of  flower-bud  which  one  inhales  in  a  kiss — 
that  may  be  downright  repugnant!  Therefore 
one  is  accustomed  to  hide  this  unseemly  function 
under  light  conversation,  and  forgets  what  the 
beautiful  mouth  is  occupied  with. 

"You  are  always  finding  fault!  Say  something 
nice  for  once." 

"Can  you  not  read  in  my  eyes  that  I  admire 
you;  I  do  not  generally  say  it  first  with  my  lips. 
But  I  want  you  to  be  perfect.  That  is  the  whole 
matter!" 

On  the  Threshold  at  Five  Years  of  Age. — A 

certain  Dr.  Ogle  states  in  his  statistics  that  in 
six-and-twenty  years  four  cases  of  suicide  have 
taken  place  among  children  between  five  and  ten 
years  old.     When  I  read  that,  "between  five  and 


On  tKe  THresHold  at  5  "Years       289 

ten  years  old,"  I  thought,  "No!  between  five 
and  ten!  Is  that  possible?  And  the  reason  of 
it?"  I  coiild  not  think  more,  but  I  saw  one 
scene,  two  scenes,  three  scenes.   .    .    . 

The  little  girl  was  five  years  old;  she  was 
playing  in  the  room  near  her  mother;  children 
must  have  something  to  do,  but  the  mother  was 
nervous,  because  she  had  been  going  into  gaiety 
and  flirting  beyond  measure. 

"Don't  rock  the  horse;  it  makes  mamma's 
head  ache." 

The  little  one  took  the  cat,  and  pinched  it, 
so  that  it  mewed. 

"Don't  do  that,  child;  mamma  is  ill." 

The  child  was  good,  and  did  not  wish  to  be 
troublesome.  She  sat  down  at  the  table,  and 
was  silent  in  order  not  to  irritate  mamma. 

But  a  child's  little  body  cannot  be  still;  nor 
ought  it  indeed;  it  moves  of  itself.  Probably 
the  child  must  have  been  singing  a  song  to  itself, 
for  the  little  imruly  feet  beat  time  against  the 
legs  of  the  chair. 

The  mother  started  up,  "Go  to  Ellen  in  the 
kitchen,  disobedient  child!" 

The  child  was  not  disobedient ;  doubly  woimded 

in  her  little  heart,  she  went  into  the  kitchen, 

good  and  obedient.     But  immediately  afterwards 
19 


290  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

she  reappeared  in  the  doorway,  "Ellen  was 
washing  up." 

There  stood  the  child  on  the  threshold,  turned 
out  and  repulsed  from  both  sides,  and  could  not 
go  anywhere.  She  looked  like  a  despairing  child, 
tearless,  but  with  all  the  terror  of  the  lonely  in 
her  face.  Dumb,  turned  to  stone,  as  though  in 
the  whole  world  there  were  no  place  for  her, 
as  though  no  one  would  have  her,  and  she  knew 
not  why.  At  this  moment  she  really  stood  on 
the  threshold  of  life,  for  she  suddenly  brightened 
up,  and  approached  the  open  window,  which  was 
high  above  the  ground. 

To  the  honour  of  the  mother,  I  must  confess 
that  she  has  described  this  scene  to  me  with  the 
greatest  remorse;  it  ended  by  her  springing  up, 
taking  the  child  in  her  arms,  and  playing  with 
her  till  the  stm  went  down. 

"If  anything  had  happened  to  the  child,  I 
should  have  lived  in  a  hell  of  self-reproach! 
And  now  I  think;  for  every  moment  which 
I  had  not  devoted  to  my  child,  for  every  little 
joy  which  I  had  denied  her,  I  would,  if  it  had 
departed,  weep  my  soul  out  of  my  body;  I  would 
plunge  into  space  and  seek  the  child  under  the 
stars  in  order  to  beg  her  forgiveness,  if  I  could  be 
forgiven .    .    .    . " 


Goethe  on  CKristianity  and  Science  291 

To  think  of  it !  At  five  years  old,  on  the  thresh- 
old of  Hfe! 

Goethe   on   Christianity   and   Science. — As   I 

waded  in  Professor  Delitzsch's  dung-heap,'  I 
reached  at  last  his  third  lecture.  In  the  last  lines 
of  the  last  page  I  found  a  pearl,  which  I  will  set, 
in  order  to  show  it  to  those  who  misuse  poor 
Goethe's  name  for  their  heathenish  propaganda. 
In  a  conversation  with  Eckermann,  on  March  11, 
1832,  that  is,  eleven  days  before  his  death,  Goethe 
spoke  these  ever  memorable  words:  "Let  mental 
culture  go  on  advancing,  let  the  natural  sciences 
go  on  gaining  in  depth  and  breadth,  and  the  human 
mind  expand  as  it  may,  it  will  never  go  beyond  the 
elevation  and  moral  culture  of  Christianity  as  it 
shines  in  the  Gospel." 

That  was  the  fruit  of  a  life  of  eighty  years 
spent  in  seeking  God  and  His  Son.  After  long 
useless  detours,  Goethe  found  it  again  at  the 
end  of  his  life,  as  is  apparent  from  the  conclusion 
of  the  second  part  of  Faust.  I  will  only  add  some 
words  of  Goethe's  on  superstition,  as  it  is  not 
comprehended  by  the  apelings:  "Superstition  is 
an  inheritance  of  powerful,  earnest,  progressive 
natures;  unbelief   is   peculiarly    characteristic   of 

*  The  work  entitled  Babel  und  Bibel. 


292  Zones  of  tKe  Spirit 

weak,  petty,  retrogressive  men. "     Such  is  unbelief 
as  Goethe  said  in  1808. 

Summa  Simunarum. — Since  destructive  science 
has  proved  itself  so  hollow,  consisting  as  it  does 
of  guesses,  false  inferences,  self-deceit,  hair- 
splittings, why  does  the  State  support  these  armies 
of  conjecturers  and  soothsayers? 

Rousseau's  first  prize-essay  regarding  the  curse 
of  culture  and  learning  should  be  repondered. 

A  Descartes  ought  to  return  and  teach  men 
to  doubt  the  untruths  of  the  sciences. 

Another  Kant  might  write  a  new  Critique  of 
Pure  Reason  and  re-establish  the  doctrine  of  the 
Categorical  Imperative  and  Postulate,  which, 
however,  is  already  to  be  found  in  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments and  the  Gospels. 

And  a  prophet  must  be  bom  to  teach  men  the 
simple  meaning  of  life  in  a  few  words,  though  it 
has  been  already  so  well  summed  up :  "  Fear  God, 
and  keep  His  commandments,"  or  "Pray  and 
work." 

All  the  errors  and  mistakes  which  we  have  made 
should  serve  to  instil  into  us  a  lively  hatred  of 
evil,  and  to  impart  to  us  fresh  impulses  to  good; 
these  we  can  take  with  us  to  the  other  side,  where 
they  can  first  bloom  and  bear  fruit. 


Sxixnina  Svammarvim  293 

That  is  the  true  meaning  of  Hfe,  at  which  the 
obstinate  and  impenitent  cavil  in  order  to  escape 
trouble. 

Pray,  but  work ;  suffer,  hut  hope ;  keeping  both 
the  earth  and  the  stars  in  view.  Do  not  try  and 
settle  permanently,  for  it  is  a  place  of  pilgrimage ; 
not  a  home,  but  a  halting-place.  Seek  truth,  for 
it  is  to  be  found,  but  only  in  one  place,  with  Him 
who  Himself  is  the  Way,  the  Truth,  and  the  Life. 

THE  END 


The  Inferno 

By  August  Strindberg 

Author  of  "  Zones  of  the  Spirit,"  "  Son  of  a  Servant,"  etc. 

Translated  and  with  Introduction  by  Claud  Field 

22*'.     $i.2S  net.     By  mail,  $1.35 

This  autobiographical  novel  is  one  of  the 
most  intimate  studies  of  personal  psychology 
that  has  been  offered  to  the  world.  It  is  as 
appallingly  frank,  as  unsparingly  veracious  as 
anything  this  gifted  but  erratic  genius  has  pro- 
duced. It  has  to  do  with  a  period  of  Strindberg's 
life  when  he  plunged  into  scientific  speculation 
and  experimentation,  and  believed  himself  in 
possession  of  the  solution  of  some  of  the  most 
sought-after  and  baffling  of  Nature's  mysteries. 
His  health,  through  prolonged  labor  and  an  un- 
natural mode  of  life,  became  more  and  more 
impaired,  his  mental  state  more  and  more  ab- 
normal. It  is  the  hostile  impressions  of  life 
experienced  during  this  period  that  the  author 
describes  in  the  pages  of  The  Inferno  with  all 
the  power  of  his  sombre  genius. 


G.  P.  Putnam's   Sons 
New  York  London 


The  Son  of  a  Servant 

By  August  Strindberg 

Author  of  "  The  Infemo,"  "Zones  of  the  Spirit,"  etc. 

Translated  by  Claud  Field 

j2°.    $1.25  net.     By  mail,  $1-35 

The  peculiar  warping  of  Strindberg's  character  had  its 
beginning  in  childhood  and  boyhood,  the  periods  so 
intimately  described  in  the  The  Son  oi  a  Servant  A 
home  in  which  only  duties  and  not  rights  were  considered, 
in  which  confessions  were  extorted  from  children  in- 
nocent of  offense,  by  methods  resembling  in  principle,  if 
not  in  severity,  the  old  systems  of  torture  by  which  the 
Dark  Ages  and  even  the  Renaissance  forced  those  under 
suspicion  to  avow  acts  of  which  they  were  often  guiltless; 
a  home  affected  by  the  reproachful  aloofness  of  outraged 
relatives;  a  home  in  which  the  exhausted  mother  sank 
weary  to  the  grave,  only  to  be  replaced  by  a  housekeeper, 
elevated  to  the  position  of  wife,  but  without  understand- 
ing for  the  sensitive  child  entrusted  to  her  care — such  is 
the  home  described  by  Strindberg  in  the  pages  of  his 
book. 

The  volume  contains  a  powerful  indictment,  not  only 
against  parental  tyranny,  but  against  the  ill-considered 
tuition  which  the  child  received  at  school,  and  the  want 
of  understanding  on  the  part -of  the  teachers  to  whom  his 
upbringing  was  entrusted.  No  one  can  understand 
Strindberg  who  has  not  read  this  powerful  book. 

G.  P.  Putnam's  Sons 
New  York  London 


New  and  Enlarged  Edition 

DE   PROFUNDIS 

BY 

OSCAR  WILDE 

Second  Edition,  with  Additional  Matter 

EDITED,  WITH  AN  INTRODUCTION,  BY 

ROBERT  ROSS 

WITH  PORTRAIT  AFTER  THE  ETCHING  BY 

J.  E.  KELLY 
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"  A  work  that  reveals  the  soul  of  its  writer  as  few  written 
works  have  ever,  consciously  or  unconsciously,  succeeded 
in  doing.  .  .  .  It  is  well-nigh  impossible  to  read 
De  Profundis  aright  except  in  the  most  humble  attitude  of 
mind.  It  must  be  approached,  as  every  great  work  of 
genius  should  be  approached,  in  an  intellectual  mood 
of  sympathy  and  appreciation,  and  not  with  the  arrogance 
of  the  censor  or  the  judge.  .  •  •  The  difference  between 
this  and  his  other  works  is  so  startling  that  its  sincerity  is 
utterly  beyond  the  shadow  of  a  question.  ...  To 
linger  over  De  Profundis  is  to  meet  the  unavoidable  neces- 
sity of  dwelling  upon  its  every  paragraph,  its  every  line, 
its  every  word.  ...  To  have  suffered  as  he  suffered, 
and  then  to  write  as  he  has  written,  is  not  the  least  of  his 
great  achievements." — Boston  Transcript 


G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS 

NEW  YORK  LONDON 


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